Metlako Falls

Located along the Eagle Creek trail in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic area. Driving east along Interstate 84, exit at the Eagle Creek exit, one mile past the Bonneville Dam exit (immediately after a short tunnel). The parking area is only accessible to eastbound traffic (if you are driving west, exit and turn around at Exit 40 (Bonneville Dam), then to return to your westbound direction, do the same at Cascade Locks). Turn right at the first stop and proceed to the trailhead in about 1/2 mile. Park and begin up the very creatively constructed trail. In places, the cliffs have been blasted out so that the trail could bypass several deep canyons. The falls will be passed about 1.6 miles in along the trail, but as the former viewpoint no longer exists, there are no clear views of the falls any longer.Metlako Falls is the final major waterfall along Eagle Creek. The falls drop out of narrow, calm pool, and thunder into a long impressive box canyon which extends a considerable distance downstream from the falls. The falls have frequently been cited at different heights, ranging from estimates of 100-150 feet, to a more specific measurement of 101 feet obtained by some of the first extreme kayakers who sought to conquer the falls. Our measurement shows the actual height to be just 82 feet, and this is corroborated with LiDAR data and renderings of the area. A large section of the side of the Eagle Creek canyon collapsed into the gorge in December of 2016, including the viewpoint for Metlako Falls, and this has effectively rendered the falls inaccessible. While the trail to the site of the viewpoint is now closed and effectively doesn't go anywhere anymore, it may still be possible that a view of the falls from the vicinity will be possible. The site of the slide is fairly close to the trail, and the falls can be partially seen through the trees from a few spots along the trail, so once the Forest Service deems the area stable its possible they may construct a new viewpoint. Until then however, treat Metlako Falls as if it was not accessible; the edge of the canyon around the site of the slide should be assumed to be unstable and extremely dangerous.The falls were named in 1915, by a committee of Mazamas, for Metlako, the Indian goddess of Salmon, likely because of the fact that this waterfall marks the upstream limit to fish who spawn in Eagle Creek.