The Eagle Creek Fire and Hiking in the Columbia River Gorge

Hello, hikers, and welcome. This page will be my ongoing attempt to track what is going on with hiking trails in the Columbia River Gorge and how they were (are) effected by the Eagle Creek Fire of 2017.

Some of the burned area in the Gorge.
Some of the burned area in the Gorge.

Updated: July 4, 2018

The Forest Service has now evaluated 67 of the 90 trail miles in the burn area.

The Historic Columbia River Highway through “waterfall alley” – including access to several very popular hikes like Wahkeena Falls, Horsetail/Triple Falls and the lodge at Multnomah Falls – still has no planned opening date. In addition, massive changes to traffic and parking patterns on that road are also being considered.

I do recommend these two blog posts from Tom Kloster at Wy’East Blog:

After the Fire: A Closer Look (Part 1 of 2)

After the Fire: A Closer Look (Part 2 of 2)

These trails are still closed as of July 4, 2018:

  • Angels Rest (should open in 2018)
  • Devils Rest
  • Eagle Creek — only 2.4 of the 14 miles have even been evaluated
  • Horsetail / Triple Falls
  • Larch Mountain — road to the summit and trail above Benson Bridge at Multnomah Falls
  • Nesmith Point
  • Wachlella Falls
  • Wahkeena Falls

These trails have re-opened since the fire:

  • Benson State Recreation Area
  • Benson Bridge at Multnomah Falls — yay!
  • Benson Ruckel Trail (#405A)
  • Benson Way Trail (#405B)
  • Benson Spur Trail (#405C)
  • Bridge of the Gods Trailhead (access to the Pacific Crest Trail)
  • Casey Creek Trail (#476)
  • Eagle Creek Overlook Campground
  • Gorge 400 Trail between Cascade Locks and Wyeth (MP 25 – 35)
  • Gorton Creek Trail (#408) to Indian Point
  • Green Point Ridge Trail (#418)
  • Herman Bridge Trail (#406E)
  • Herman Creek Cutoff Trail (#410)
  • Herman Creek Trailhead and Trail (#406)
  • Mount Defiance
  • Mud Lake Trail (#406A)
  • Nick Eaton Trail (#447)
  • Pacific Crest Trail (#2000)
  • Plateau Cutoff Trail (#412)
  • Ridge Cutoff Trail (#437)
  • Starvation Ridge and all other trails from Starvation Creek Rest Area
  • Wyeth Trailhead and only a small segment of Wyeth Trail that connects to Gorge #400. The remainder of Wyeth #411 is closed until the junction with Green Point Ridge Trail (#418) on the Mt. Hood.

Stay tuned. Meanwhile, here are some resources to check out: