Shrouded Falls

Woodward Creek is a stream of modest size which drains to the Columbia River west of Beacon Rock State Park. Along its length are no less than a half-dozen waterfalls of varying size and shape, and while none of these falls are terribly large, all of them are quite scenic. Shrouded Falls is the first waterfall encountered when hiking along the old trail constructed by Russ Jolly which traverses the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge between Beacon Rock State Park and Archer Mountain. The falls drop 32 feet into a rugged, partially enclosed alcove, with the creek veiling outward from several points as it falls. Just 100 feet further upstream is an upper fall of about 20 feet which should probably be grouped together as part of this waterfall, however we did not have a chance to survey it on our last visit to the area. A few dozen yards below the falls is another pretty 5-foot cascade where the creek sheets across a small clam-shell ledge. Though Woodward Creek is not a terribly small stream, it is neither very large at this point along its length. The drainage basin above the falls is about 1.25 square miles in size, so while during the wet season there is ample catchment to direct a considerable volume of water down the creek, during the summer months the stream flow should be expected to be considerably lower. When this is the case, expect the falls to transform from a broad veiling fall to one with several distinct and less boisterous segments. This section of Woodward Creek and the road used to access the trail leading there appears to be Gifford Pinchot National Forest land, however along the road used to access the trail is a sign nailed to a tree which claims the road is private and that public travel is not allowed. We have not been able to verify the legitimacy of this sign, and since just a few hundred feet past the sign along the road is a Forest Service road number marker (and this road is the only road which can access the National Forest land further up), we have reason to believe this sign is "unofficial" and meant simply to deter people from the area (there are several private tracts and homes passed en route to the trailhead). That said, if you find any further indication that public access is not allowed via the route described below, please be respectful of the landowners and do not continue.Russ Jolly, a Portland-based Scoutmaster for the Boyscouts who was responsible for the guerrilla construction of the trail used to access this waterfall back in the 1950s-(ish), gave many informal names to features in this area, but this waterfall does not seem to have been one of them - or at least we haven't been able to uncover any references to it if it was. We've chosen to title it after its striking veil-like appearance for the time being.