4.3 hr
Overview
There used to be no bridge crossing for the Pacific Crest Trail where it came down off of Dog Mountain and resumed on the Oregon side at the Herman Creek Work Center (formerly the Columbia Gorge Ranger Station), near the Herman Creek Trailhead. With right-of-way acquisitions in the 1980s, a major reroute took the trail from Big Huckleberry Mountain in southern Washington past Table Mountain to the Bridge of the Gods. On the Oregon side, a connection was made between Dry Creek Falls and what is now the Herman Bridge Trail to hook up with the original route that takes hikers up to the Benson Plateau. The undulating tread of this hike will take you below the cliffs of the Gorge face to two attractive waterfalls and the Herman Creek Pinnacles, large chunks of basalt that slid off the cliff face above in ancient landslides. Almost the entire area of this hike was affected by the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire. You'll see blackened tree trunks and a recovering understory, but most of the canopy is still intact. Alternative trailheads for this hike are the PCT Harvey Road Trailhead and the Cascade Locks Trailhead. See the Herman Creek Pinnacles Hike for a shorter route to the pinnacles via the Herman Creek and Herman Bridge Trails. This hike starts you at the Bridge of the Gods Trailhead. From the trailhead, cross the road and head up the Pacific Crest Trail parallel to I-84. There's an old safety fence on your right. Soon, you'll come to Moody Street as it crosses under the freeway. Walk the road uphill to the right, passing under the freeway. When the road angles left, keep right on a gravel road a short distance to a couple of parking pullouts. Altogether the road walking here is about 100 yards. The trail to the right is the Gorge Trail headed toward the Ruckel Creek Trail and the Eagle Creek Campground. You'll take the trail to the left, the Pacific Crest Trail, which also doubles as the Gorge Trail #400 heading east from here. The Crest Trail heads gradually uphill, never too steep, through a pretty, dappled sun kind
Trail Stats
11.9 km
491 m
290 m
0 m
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Photos
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