In Scott Cook’s wonderful round-up gem of places lesser known in the Columbia River Gorge, Curious Gorge, Mist Falls is uncovered and revealed. This waterfall moods changes dramatically with the seasons, from a solid waterfall after a rain to one with mists dancing in the wind. Mists never seeming to be in any hurry to settle back on the ground as they enjoy their brief moment of freedom. It sits as a nearby neighbor to the king, Multnomah Falls. The waterfall is most visible to the motorists ripping along Interstate 84. Those motorists – the drivers, anyway – only get a fleeting glance. Their attentions quickly focus on cars using the left-hand exit for the nearby huge parking lot at Multnomah. Mist Falls is a true overlooked gem in the midst of Waterfall Alley.

THE RATING

The waterfall drops 520 feet in two dramatic plunges with the lower plunge dropping 300 feet. Raters are not kind to the waterfall, however, giving it a 39.74 number – Multnomah Falls is 89.92 by comparison. The low rating pushes Mist Falls way down the list of Oregon waterfall ratings, 175th place, in fact – Multnomah is number one, by comparison.

Mist Falls is considered to be a seasonal waterfall by many. While it does shrink up by the late summer before the autumn rains reappear, Mist Falls never disappears completely. The waterfalls simply lives up to its name.

Some of the true magic of the falls can be seen when the waterfall volume shrinks, and the veil formed drifts in the ever-present winds. The power of Multnomah Falls is in your face, but Mist Falls creates images in your mind as memorable in the delicacy of the scene.

The waterfall is a bit of a flirt. Interstate 84 seems the best place to view the falls from. The old highway view is obscured by trees and the fact the waterfall is straight up from the road. Most people simply drive right on by without knowing of the falls’ presence above them.

MIST FALLS BETTER APPRECIATED

To properly pull the veil back on the mystical nature of Mist Falls, you must earn the right. There are no signs, no official trails leading to a closer view of the cascade. There is a small turnout on the south side of the old highway next to a road sign warning of 25 mph curves to the east – the road approach to Wahkeena Falls. From here, a scramble path heads up to the base of Mist Falls.

A plaque on a boulder next to the start of the path notes the ground around here given to the State as a gift from former landowners Rueben and Rose Lenske in 1971. Then the fun begins.

scrambled

You only have a quarter mile to go, but the way is steep. You will need your hands to do vegetable belays as you ascend and especially descend. Be careful of which branches to grab, however. Devil’s Club is so named for a reason.

The fire damage from the 2017 fire is all around you here. Winds swept the flames through the underbrush with most of the maple forest surviving.

As you climb higher, the footing becomes more unsure. At least as you sweat, you have the knowledge of very few others sharing the scene. About halfway up, you begin to see the falls. The halfway point is probably the crux as you make a couple of high steps grabbing an appropriate bush to help as you climb around a large rock standing above the rambling brook. Step carefully as a fall could be painful.

Above the crux, you ascend on loose talus in and out of alder branches. As you get closer to the base of the falls, your view becomes more constrained. The upper cascade disappears blocked by the basalt ledge over which the lower falls leaps from. Hiking up to Mist Falls, again gives you a different view every time you wander up. It all depends upon the mood of the waterfall.

Take special care in descending. Not a route for children and sadly nor for Ollie, my corgi.

MIST LODGE

As you walk on the path turns to begin its push up the hill, look carefully across Mist Creek. In the forest still stands a chimney from the 1916 Mist Lodge. Predating Multnomah Lodge by a few years, Mist Lodge burnt down in 1929. A stone marking back on the road below can be seen to note “Multnomah Lodge 1916”. This gives the mistaken idea the lodge was a precursor to the large chalet at Multnomah Falls. Multnomah Lodge was indeed the first name given to the retreat here.

By 1921, the name had changed to Mist Lodge. The lodge sold for $3000 in 1919 and was up for sale again in 1925. The price upped to $16,000 though Los Angeles property could be accepted as part of a potential deal. The owner was not a resident. He had taken the house as part of a trade for a home in Hollywood.

The “other” Multnomah Lodge – Multnomah Falls Lodge, actually – was built by the City of Portland in 1925 to capitalize on the number of tourists attracted to that waterfall by way of the new “old” highway.

ABOVE THE FALLS

No trails, official or otherwise, lead to the brink of the upper falls. Possibly, you could go off of the Wahkeena Springs – Angels Rest trail. One would descend down steep slopes covered by a ghost forest burnt out since 2017. It would probably not be worth the effort to reveal too much magic, however. The trail crosses Mist Creek on a log bridge high above the falls. To beat through the alder up high on slopes guaranteed to be unstable is not a wise investment of time.

Ollie and I simply enjoyed Mist Creek for what it is high above the unrevealed veil lying below.