While the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge has more waterfalls, the waterfalls on the Washington side should not be overlooked. On my five day trip to the Columbia River Gorge, I spend one day exploring waterfalls on the Washington side of the gorge. You can read more about my Columbia River Gorge trip and waterfalls on the Oregon side of the gorge here. The waterfalls that I saw on the Washington side were Panther Creek Falls, Falls Creek Falls, and Spirit Falls. Most of the pictures in this post were captured on my Fujifilm X-T5. I used two different recipes from the FujiXWeekly app (both of which were used on the Oregon side of the gorge). At Falls Creek Falls I used my DJI Mini 3 Pro drone in addition to my camera.

panther

Panther Creek Falls

Recipe used – Emulsion ‘86

Panther Creek Falls is located on a forest service road. You will not have service, so mark the trailhead beforehand and make sure you download a map or bring a physical one with you. The hike to the top viewpoint is a short 0.1 miles one way. If you want to hike down to the base of the waterfall, it is about a 10 minute walk past the viewpoint.

It was an overcast, rainy day. This added to the ambiance of being in a rainforest surrounded by the roar of a waterfall and creek. I only saw one other person at Panther Creek Falls. They were arriving just as I was leaving, so I had the waterfall to myself the entire time I was there.

falls

Falls Creek Falls

Recipe used – Emulsion ‘86

Falls Creek Falls is also located on a forest service road. You will not have service here either, so follow the same precautions that you did with Panther Creek Falls. The hike out to Falls Creek Falls is an easy 2.6 miles roundtrip. When I got to the trailhead, there were only about six other cars. It was still raining when I got to this trail, so I knew that this was going to be another soothing hike. You will be hiking next to Falls Creek the entirety of the hike. The roaring of Falls Creek quieted my mind and there was no lack of lush vegetation to admire.

You’ll know you’re getting close to Falls Creek Falls when you cross the second bridge over Falls Creek. The trail wraps around the hill after you cross this second bridge.

Falls Creek Falls is one of my favorite waterfalls I’ve ever seen. It is truly magnificent and extremely powerful. I have seen pictures of the falls later in the summer and these pictures lack the tiny waterfall on the right.

There are more tiers that you are not able to see from the ground. This is where my drone came in handy.

spirit

Spirit Falls

Recipe used – Summer of 1960

Spirit Creek Falls isn’t very easy to find because it doesn’t have a marked trailhead. The trailhead can be found near coordinates 45.7259392, -121.6383086. If you plug these coordinates into Google Maps or an app of your choosing, you will see that they land on a bend in Cook-Underwood Road. Spirit Falls can be seen on the river directly next to these coordinates (on Google Maps you can see it, I’m not sure about other apps). The coordinates will lead you to a dirt lot that is on the right-hand side of the road. The start of the trail is towards the back of the lot next to the trees. You’ll know you’re on the right track when you see the view below followed by a trail with a lot of rocks leading downhill.

The hike is only about 1 mile round-trip, but it is extremely steep and there is a lot of loose gravel and rocks. I do not recommend this hike if you have children or any type of mobility limitation. There were several points going down where I had to scoot on my butt or grab onto a tree. Once you have scrambled down the hillside, Spirit Falls waits for you in the forest. I read that people kayak along this river and down the waterfall. Now that I have seen this area, I am shocked anyone would attempt to do so. The river was full of large rocks and swirling rapids. I did see two kayakers while I was at Spirit Falls, but they were walking with their kayaks along the shore rather than going down the falls themselves.

Note for the reader: I share these locations so that others can see beautiful places and enjoy nature as much as I do. Please be respectful of the outdoors and what condition it is in when you visit. Don’t go off trail, leave no trace, and pack out what you came in with.