Eagle Creek Trail

Punchbowl Falls. High Bridge. Tunnel Falls. For hikers, the names mean one thing: Eagle Creek Trail in the Columbia River Gorge. Punchbowl Falls, two miles from the trailhead, is only 15 feet high, but its setting is superb. A short side trail leads down to a rounded amphitheater where the falls shoot over an undercut cliff and plunge full force into an emerald pool of water. High Bridge spans Eagle Creek 3.3 miles from the trailhead in an area of steep cliffs. The water rushes cool and clear 50 feet beneath the bridge. Tunnel Falls, a 100- foot plunge on the East Fork of Eagle Creek, earned its name when the trail was blasted through solid basalt behind the falls. The roar of the falls is deafening from inside the tunnel, while the roof drips incessantly. Eagle Creek's beauty does not come without a price. During last year's hiking season, 42 percent of total usage in the 39,891- acre Columbia Wilderness was on the Eagle Creek Trail. A total of 4,903 visitors were counted at the wilderness area boundary, 4.8 miles from the trailhead.