Elowah Falls

Yesterday we took advantage of the hot weather (91 degrees) to go play in a waterfall in the Columbia Gorge. We knew the area would be a little busy, so the night before we researched some of the various trails leading to waterfalls that would be kid friendly but not massively crowded. We came across Elowah Falls - a 1.3 mile hike round trip to a gorgeous water fall. So the plan was set. We packed a backpack and drove about an hour, 2 miles past Multnomah Falls (which was PACKED) to a little trailhead off of Frontage Road.

There were about 15 cars, but there are a few trails that begin at this trailhead, so we figured everyone wouldn't be on the exact same trail. And we were right. We passed a group of people maybe three times on the hike and there was one other group swimming at the falls when we got there. Not bad at all!

It was quite muggy, so we were thankful to be in the shade and out of the sunshine for the duration of the hike.

The trail was easy for a while, although you gain some elevation for the first half and then you begin going down again for the second half, then the trail becomes steep and rocky with quite a few switchbacks. I held Nathan's hand in case he hit some loose rock - and there was lots of it - but in general the boys were able to hike this one easily.

We found a tiny waterfall and decided that it was a shower for fairies.

Some of the scenery leading up to the waterfall.

You're still quite close to the freeway on this hike, but once you hit the switchbacks, the freeway sound dies away and it's replaced by the sound of the waterfall. It was a gorgeous sight.

That tiny thing at the bottom of the picture is Aiden.

These falls are strong. The spray and wind coming off of it was hefty, but it felt perfect in the muggy weather. I didn't want to walk away from it!

We played in the stream under the walking bridge and had a snack.

This is seriously a beautiful place and possibly my favorite waterfall yet. I think I'm going to have to start keeping a list of all the waterfall hikes we've done.

As you can see, the boys had a wonderful time exploring the falls. I loved that this one was a great hike for the kids, even if it did get a little steep and rocky at times. We can't wait to do more hikes throughout the summer!