Dead Point Falls

Dead Point Creek Falls is located near the town of Dee in the Hood River Valley. From Hood River, follow Highway 35 south for 7 miles, then turn east on Highway 231 and proceed 9 miles to the small town of Dee. Turn right onto Punchbowl Road, staying straight where the road splits to veer hard to the left. About a mile and a half from Dee, the road crosses the West Fork of the Hood. Shortly before the bridge is a gated gravel road at a large pullout. Park and follow the road for about 1/5 of a mile then make your way to the canyon rim for views of the falls.The falls on Dead Point Creek is the larger of a pair of waterfalls visible from the rim of the canyon of the West Fork Hood River. Shortly above Punchbowl Falls, the Hood enters an impressive canyon framed by some of the better displays of columnar jointing found in northern Oregon, and shortly below where the West Fork makes its small plunge over Punchbowl, Dead Point Creek sprays 75 feet into the canyon in an eye-catching waterfall framed by several sizable trees. A Fish Hatchery is located near the top of the falls, which draws off a portion of Dead Point Creek to fill its ponds. This has the added benefit of returning the excess drawn off water back into the creek opposite the upper tier of the falls, creating a second segment of the upper tier of the falls and resulting in a unique reverse pitchfork appearance to the waterfall.Some earlier maps erroneously label this stream as Dry Point Creek or Burnt Creek. Dead Point Creek is the long accepted name, stemming from the fact that the stream originates amid a stand of burnt timber. Early photos of the falls caption it simply Dead Point Falls, omitting the "creek" portion of the name.