|
Starring across the Columbia River from the Bridal Veil area, the lofty cliffs of Cape Horn are seen guarding the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. In the spring, a few seasonal unnamed streams can be seen streaming down these cliffs - the largest of which is known as Cape Horn Falls. The falls consist of three main sections. The first is a series of small horsetails sliding down a narrow grassy knick in the cliff band. The creek then cascades down talus for a short distance before plunging over a sheer cliff. An obscure trail passes the falls at this location. The creek then cascades further down - perhaps as much as 200 vertical feet - before plunging a sheer 250 feet almost directly into the Columbia River. The whole formation drops about 600 feet in all. Unfortunately, the falls only flow in the wet season and usually run dry by mid May.
- Cape Horn Falls is the Official name of this waterfall.
This name is often used nonchalantly to describe this waterfall, but evidence points towards this being an actual accepted official name for this waterfall. I first found mention of this being a named waterfall on a map (circa 1970s) put out by the US Army Corp of Engineers outlining hydrological features of Washington.
Cape Horn Falls are most easily viewed from the Bridal Veil area on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. The easiest viewing area is from the loop trail at Bridal Veil Falls State Park, ½ mile east of the Bridal Veil exit from Interstate 84. The little known Cape Horn Trail also passes near all parts of the falls, but only provides views of small sections at any given time. The trail is accessed by parking at the intersection of Highway 14 and Salmon Falls Road, then following Cape Horn Road (private, why you have to park further back), and following the road to its end, then picking up the trail for about 3 miles.
|
