| Wahkeena Falls -- near the Historic Columbia River Highway Type: tiered Height:: 242 Feet Access: car or hiking This fall along Wahkeena Creek can be seen from the Wahkeena picnic area across the Historic Highway. There are parking spaces at the picnic area. It is 0.5 miles west of Multnomah Falls. The Yakama Tribe word "wahkeena" means "most beautiful." This fall was once known as Gordon Falls in honor of pioneer land-owner F.E. Gordon. In 1915, a committee of the Mazamas changed the name of the creek and falls to Wahkeena - the Yakama Indian word for "most beautiful." Wahkeena Trail climbs to 900 feet for a spectacular view of the Columbia River, described by Rudyard Kippling as "penned between gigantic stone walls crowed with the ruined bastions of Oriental palaces." Traveling among rocks festooned with deer fern, the trail follows the creek close to its source and enters a steep forest of moss-hung vine maple, sword fern, and 200-ft Douglas firs to end at Larch Mountain Trail in 2.8 miles. Wahkeena Trail connects with several other trails en route and allows many loop possibilities. Wahkeena Falls Picnic Area provides a picnic shelter and a stone fireplace. Wahkeena Creek is isolated and unique. Without a network of tributary streams flowing from higher elevations, Wahkeena Creek is isolated from adjacent watersheds. This isolation has created a unique habitat for 8 species of aquatic insects that are only found in the Columbia River Gorge. No other watershed in the Pacific Northwest can yet claim this many endemic species. Two of these insects, the Wahkeena flightless stone fly (Nemoura wahkeena) and Anderson's caddisfly (Neothremma andersoni) are only found in the Wahkeena watershed |
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