Barrier Falls

Barrier Falls is accessed from the Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery, located approximately 15 ½ miles west of the town of Clatskanie, adjacent to Highway 30 on the banks of Gnat Creek. Visitor parking is found behind the fish rearing ponds. A signed path, framed by a lattice, leads 500 feet to an overlook of the falls.Gnat Creek slides about 5 feet over a sloping ledge which is apparently the natural barrier to native fish migration. A trail from the Gnat Creek Hatchery was recently constructed by a local BSA troop, complete with interpretive signs and several viewpoints. Were the falls not named, its size would preclude its inclusion in the database. Also adjacent to the Gnat Creek Hatchery is a 15 foot waterfall spilling into Gnat Creek from an unnamed seasonal tributary to the east.