Pets allowed
Allowed
Elevation Gain
500.00 ft (152.40 m)
Trail type
There-and-back
Distance
3.80 mi (6.12 km)
Please respect the outdoors by practicing Leave No Trace. Learn more about how to apply the principles of Leave No Trace on your next outdoor adventure here.

Getting to Tamanawas Falls from Portland takes some time, but you’ll feel like it was worth the drive once you reach the base of the awe-inspiring, 150-foot cascade!  You’ll pass over several robust log footbridges and follow the beautiful Cold Spring Creek for just over a mile until you reach the falls.  The falls get their name from the Chinook word for a guardian spirit.  As you pass through the Douglas fir, mountain hemlock and red alder forest, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for fairy slipper orchids and western wood anemone.  To extend your hike on the return, add another 2 miles and make a loop of the hike by taking the switchback at the boulder field which will lead you just past the Polallie Trailhead.  You will catch fleeting glimpses of Mount Hood before the trail returns up the East Fork of the Hood River.

If you want to make this an overnight trip, consider camping at the nearby and conveniently located Nottingham Campground.   While you are in the area, you can also hike the trail to Bald Butte.  Afterward, stop by some of the local orchards and do some wine tasting in the valley. 

Logistics + Planning

Preferable season(s)

Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall

Congestion

Moderate

Parking Pass

NW Forest Pass

Pros

Easy hike to incredible falls. Camping nearby.

Cons

Heavily used.

Trailhead Elevation

3,020.00 ft (920.50 m)

Features

Waterfalls

Location

Nearby Adventures

Mt. Hood + Clackamas River Area, Oregon
Oregon, Mt. Hood + Clackamas River Area
Mt. Hood + Clackamas River Area, Oregon

Nearby Lodging + Camping

Oregon, Mt. Hood + Clackamas River Area
Mt. Hood + Clackamas River Area, Oregon
Mt. Hood + Clackamas River Area, Oregon

Comments

07/20/2019
Exactly what I was hoping for and looking for - a nice, not too strenuous 4-mile round-trip hike alongside an idyllic stream underneath tree cover all the way up to the falls.

And the falls themselves are a stunner, especially this time of year while everything is green and lush and the moss is as vibrant as ever.

Do it.
05/08/2019
Go to the mountain, they said. It'll be cooler, they said.

They lied. This trail is NOT for a hot day. Gorgeous, easy to follow, inexplicably packed with random people and dogs on a Wednesday afternoon, but not a place to seek shelter from a sudden heatwave in May.

Mist feels pretty great at the falls, though.
12/09/2017
This was a great hike! There’s a path going through the boulder field that doesn’t require too much climbing around but it can be a little icy. And it is really icy closer to the falls.
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