Upper McCord Creek Falls Hike

Overview

NOTICE: The trail to the bottom of Elowah Falls is closed due to a large landslide, but the upper trail to McCord Creek Falls is open. A pair of short hikes from the busy John B Yeon Trailhead take you to two picturesque but very different waterfalls on McCord Creek. Both Elowah Falls (see the Elowah Falls Loop Hike) and Upper McCord Creek Falls can be viewed from the vertigo-inducing Upper McCord Creek Falls Trail, the pathway itself being carved out of a cliff face and a highlight of the hike. On a good day, there are also views across the Columbia River to Hamilton Mountain and Table Mountain. This is a switchbacking hike with a reasonable amount of climbing and a ledge section under a dripping cliff face protected by handrails. While most of the hike is within the John B. Yeon State Scenic Corridor, you'll cross into the national forest's Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness just before you arrive at the waterfall. The wide trail heads up from the parking area to switchback at a wooden water tank which seems to be permanently dispensing its contents. The 2017 Eagle Creek Fire burned down to the freeway here, and you’ll notice scorched alders and maples right away. There’s a somewhat tangled understory of thimbleberry and trailing blackberry. Pass the junction with the Nesmith Point Trail, which has been closed since the 2017 fire. Once you enter the Douglas-fir forest, you’ll see that most of the conifers on this section survived the fire even though the flames blackened the lower reaches of their trunks. Through the trees, there are views to Pierce Island, Beacon Rock, and Hamilton Mountain. After rising steadily up a slope, you’ll come to the Gorge-Upper McCord Creek Falls Trail Junction. Make a sharp turn right here. The rock walls above and below the trail were constructed along this scree slope by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. They were partially destroyed in scree slides after the Eagle Creek Fire but were painstakingly restored by Trailkeepers of Oregon crews in 2018/2019. You’ll enter a

Trail Stats

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TKO put tools to trail here.png

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