Looking to find waterfalls
 

Could someone give me places of interest to look into for my trip to Orengon. I wish to see as many Beautiful waterfalls as I can while I am out there. Thank you

You will find several on a trip through the Columbia River Gorge.

A recent article in Sunset magazine showed several. There is a state park near Salem that has several

If you can get up to Seattle area, Snoqualmie Falls are the tallest in the United States.

Snoqualmie Falls is very lovely, but to set the record straight it is only 268 feet high. Multnomah which is the in the heart of the Columbia Gorge is 620 feet high and accessible from I-84. The way to see the falls in the gorge is to take the Scenic Old Highway. The falls east of Salem are in Silver Creek State Park and I believe there are 7 separate falls, only a couple can be seen from the road. Viewing the others requires a little walking, wonderful in the summer though there is not too much water coming over, spectacular in the winter, but the trails are muddy. Both areas are well worth the trip.

While we were heading down the Oregon coast a couple of years ago, we met an Oregon couple who had just come from Crater Lake area and they had done two days of "waterfall" touring. They lent us a folder and map with a promise that we would return it to them which we did. I wish I knew where that brochure came from, perhaps an Oregon tourist office or a division of the state parks of Oregon?<BR>In any case there were about twenty waterfalls all clustered around the Crater lake area. This folder explained how to get to each one and we spent a full day hitting about 6 or 7 of them. Most had parking near by and fairly short walks or climbs to them, mainly in state parks in the area. If you had that brochure you could spend about three days and hit all of them, but I'm afraid I can't help any more in telling you where to find it.

Wow. Several Sources. Not really interested in the Tallest, or the Widest, or the one that makes the Most noise, as much as I am in the Pure beauty and peaceful type environment (to me) that these provide me. I am VERY Greatfull to you all for providing me this information. thank you all.

You have gotten several very good recommendations. A trip I would recommend that gets you to as many as possible with effecient driving is to leave Portland and follow the old scenic highway to Hood River. There are lots of waterfalls, some huge and splashy and others just plain ole pretty. Some are very close to the road, others are a bit more of a hike. Then from Hood River either cross the river and drive back on the Washington side - not so many waterfalls but a pretty drive or stay on the Oregon side and take the Hwy back to Portland. The time to do this would vary, according to your travel pace. A very full day and you could cram them in but I might recommend at least 2 days to enjoy it. Hike half, drive past the others then on your way back get the other half.<BR><BR>Silver Creek Park is the park near Salem, actually Silverton. There is a path (7 mile?) that will take you to lots of falls. The path is a nice one, not too strenuous. A nice day hike. A very nice park, no dogs on the falls path though. You can go behind one of the falls - an exhilerating experience every time. Silverton is also home to the Oregon Garden. An innovative idea and wonderful place. It is on the web.<BR><BR>I am less familiar with the falls around Crater Lake but a word of caution, the drive from Portland to Crater Lake is a full day. You didn't say how much time you had but you might prefer to spend more time at the Gorge seeing them all than driving all the way to southern Oregon.<BR><BR>Have a great time, Oregon is beautiful!<BR>Sara

Multnomah, while somewhat touristy, is awesome; and we had one of the best lunches of our trip at the restaurant at its base. DO NOT LEAVE THE STATE WITHOUT DRIVING THE NORTHERN COAST. Words cannot describe.....

Make sure you take plenty of time to see the coast also. Oregon has one of the most dramatic, beautiful coastlines in the country. Ecola State Park has fantastic scenery and Cannon Beach is a nice place to spend a few hours browzing around. Enjoy!!

There are several falls along the the old highway east of Portland to the Columbia Gorge--Multnomah is of course the most famous, there's also Bridal Veil, Horse Tail, etc. But these are very touristed, can be quite crowded on week-ends, and be careful of your belonging at Multnomah Falls. It's well known that cars are broken into there everyday, especially cars with out of state license plates and luggage, etc. in the seats. Just be aware.<BR>If you want to get off the beat track a bit, the Salt Creek Falls on High 58 east of Eugene are beautiful--they plummet 286 feet. You cross a footbridge there and take a hike back to Diamond Creek Falls, a very pretty set of falls, and there will be almost no one around. When we lived in Eugene, we used to go hiking there and we could picnic right next to the falls and have them to ourselves. <BR>There is also a county park not too far from Silver Creek Falls that has falls almost as nice as SC and none of the crowds. Will dig out the name later today.<BR>Finally, if you're really interested, get a copy of "A Waterfall Lover's Guide to the Pacific Northwest" written by Gregory Plumb and published by Mountaineers. <BR>General note: Some of the best guides to Oregon and Washington can't be found at the big book stores, they're books written by locals and published by small companies. Among my favorites are Oregon's Quiet Waters, a Guide to Lakes for Canoeists and Other Paddlers, published by Jackson Creek Press, and 100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades by William Sullivan and published by Navillus Press. Also, pick up the maps published by Old-Growth Day Hikes, which are detailed guides to 50 old-growth hikes (often with waterfalls or lakes) in the Mt. Hood National Forest, the Willamette National Forest, etc. They're wonderful sources of information that never make it into the big, mainstream guide books.<BR>BTilke