Multnomah Falls - Oregon Waterfalls; Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Multnomah Falls-hike/trail/map/directions

Multnomah Falls is, of course, THE place to stop for tourists in the Columbia River Gorge area in Oregon. It is awesome how this waterfall seems to "tower" over everything, a sight to see. However, you will not have this wonderful waterfall to yourself. Try to get there early in the morning to avoid the rush. At around sunrise, there will probably be very few, if any, other people here, and it is a wonderful experience viewing this waterfall with no one else around. But at any other time of day, the hordes of people around the falls ruin the experience in my opinion. After you have had enough time basking in the presence of Multnomah, hike up to the top of the waterfall (2 miles RT). Theres not really a good view of the falls from the top, but there are other waterfalls up there, and also some good views of the Columbia River, and you can peer down at all the people looking up at the falls from the viewpoints below.

There are a couple interesting things that I wonder about Multnomah Falls. The first, is that it is commonly advertised as being the 2nd highest "year-round" waterfall in the United States, after Yosemite Falls (and the 4th highest in all the U.S.). It is nowhere near being the 2nd highest year-round falls in the U.S. Here are just a very few that are higher: Bridalveil Falls, Chilnualna Falls, Colonial Creek Falls, Hanakapiai Falls.

The second thing is its listed "official" height of 611 ft. I wonder if that is really the correct height. I measured it as being 599 ft. high. The upper section I measured to be 540 ft., which is very close to the official height of 542 ft. The lower section I measured to be 59 ft. high, compared to the official 69 ft. There is, however, a small drop at the top of Multnomah that is sometimes called "Little Multnomah Falls", and it is about 10 ft. high, so that could possibly make up the difference in the overall height of 611 ft. I'm not confident about that, though, because if this was the case, then the lower section official height would be 59 ft., not 69 ft. It is a bit of a mystery.

Multnomah Falls OR (Elev. 200 ft)

Overnight
A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. East wind around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
Thursday
Showers. High near 51. Breezy, with an east wind 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Thursday Night
Rain, mainly after 10pm. Steady temperature around 48. Windy, with an east wind 24 to 29 mph, with gusts as high as 44 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.
Friday
Rain. High near 54. Breezy, with an east wind 14 to 21 mph becoming west in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Friday Night
Rain before 10pm, then showers after 10pm. Low around 43. Breezy, with a south wind 14 to 16 mph becoming east in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Saturday
Showers. High near 50. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Saturday Night
Showers. Low around 40. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Sunday
Showers likely before 4pm, then rain after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50.
Sunday Night
Rain before 10pm, then showers after 10pm. Cloudy, with a low around 40.
Monday
Showers. Cloudy, with a high near 48.
Monday Night
Showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40.
Tuesday
Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48.
Tuesday Night
Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40.