Multnomah Falls
A 620-foot-high double-decker torrent, the second-highest year-round waterfall in the nation, Multnomah is by far the most spectacular of the Gorge cataracts east of Troutdale. It's also incredibly popular, drawing some 2.5 million visitors annually. To help manage the sometimes excessive crowds, U.S. Forest Service has begun requiring visitors to obtain timed-use permits to visit the falls and drive the Waterfall corridor between late May and early September; you can reserve your ticket, which costs $2, at recreation.gov. Access to the falls and Multnomah Lodge is via a parking lot at Exit 31 off Interstate 84, or via the Historic Columbia River Highway; from the parking area, a paved path winds to a bridge over the lower falls. A much steeper, also paved, 1.1-mile trail climbs to a viewing point overlooking the upper falls, and from here, unpaved but well-groomed trails join with others, allowing for hours of hiking in the rugged mountains above the Gorge. Even the paved ramble to the top will get your blood pumping.
