Latourell Falls at Mount Hood

On the Road 1 Minute

Many waterfalls tumble off Mount Hood. One of the most beautiful is Latourell Falls along the old Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway east of Portland, Oregon.

The falls plunge 224 feet over a wall of column-shaped volcanic basalt. Part of the rock face is covered with a light green lichen that catches light and can make stunning photographs.

Jim and I stopped here to take photos because the larger and more famous Multnomah Falls were closed. A large 2017 wildfire begun by children playing with firecrackers removed so much groundcover that the surrounding mountainside was destabilized.

Visitors to Multnomah Falls now are limited to a few at a time. So the park closes as soon as the number reaches capacity.

Unknown's avatar

Published by Robert Craig Waters

Robert Craig Waters is a Florida writer. After leaving journalism in the early 1980s, he worked as an attorney, communications director, and public spokesman for the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee for 35 years. He grew up on a family farm in Beulah, Florida, not far from the Alabama border, before attending Brown University in the 1970s. His mother's family traces its roots to Weaverville, North Carolina. His father's family is from the small village of Burnt Corn, Alabama, where Mr. Waters spent part of his childhood.

Published