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Ponytail Falls
   Multnomah County, Oregon

[ Physical Makeup ]  [ Pictures ]  [ Maps ]  [ Update History ]

Shortly before making the thunderous plunge over Horsetail Falls, Horsetail Creek is shot through a narrow crack and exploded out into a large pool in front of a deep recess, which allows a trail to pass behind the falls. This is one of the more favored waterfalls in Oregon for professional photographers, mainly for pictures looking out from behind the falls. Though the falls are only about 1/3 mile from the trailhead, the trail is steep, gaining about 250 feet in roughly 1/3 mile, hence the moderate difficulty rating. Most sources attribute a height of 100-125 feet to this waterfall, which is a substantial overestimate from our measured height of 88 feet.

HISTORY AND NAMING INFORMATION

  • Ponytail Falls is the Official name of this waterfall.
  • Known Alternate Names: Upper Horsetail Falls

The falls are often called Upper Horsetail Falls (as seen on the signs on site), but Ponytail Falls is both more colorful and appears to have been in use longer.

LOCATION AND DIRECTIONS

moderate access

Located in the Multnomah Falls area of the Columbia Gorge. Drive to Horsetail Falls, 2 1/2 miles east of Multnomah Falls, or 2 miles west of I-84 at Dodson. Park, and follow the Horsetail Falls Trail # 438 steeply up for about 4/10 mile, bearing right at the junction halfway up the hill. The trail crosses behind the falls, offering several photo opportunities from multiple angles on either side of the falls.

Latitude

45.58833 N

Longitude

-122.06806 W

Elevation

412 feet

USGS Quadrangle

Multnomah Falls 7 1/2"

Online USGS Topographic maps on Terraserver

Aerial Photographs: Terraserver | Flash Earth

Download KML

Open this location in Google Earth

OTHER NEARBY WATERFALLS

Name

Distance

Horsetail Falls

0.124 miles

Oneonta Falls

0.477 miles

Middle Oneonta Falls

0.507 miles

Upper Oneonta Falls

0.741 miles

Waespe Falls

1.116 miles

Triple Falls

1.122 miles

Wiesendanger Falls

3.436 miles

Ecola Falls

3.459 miles

Dutchman Falls

3.471 miles

Multnomah Falls

3.888 miles

 

 

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Magnitude

32.44

IWC

1.63  (Class 2)

RATING

46.11 %

 

Photo of Ponytail Falls

[ View Pictures ]

 

PHYSICAL MAKEUP

Height

88 feet

Tallest Drop

88 feet

Num. Drops

1

AVG. Width

5 feet

Pitch

77 degrees

Run

20 feet

Primary Form

Plunge

 

Watershed

Columbia River (Snake River to Portland)

Stream

Horsetail Creek

AVG. Volume

75.0 cfs

Source

Unknown

Seasonality

Best Flows

Year Round

 
 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Search for Ponytail Falls on Google

Information on this waterfall at the World Waterfall Database

Search for more pictures at:
Flickr | PBase | Webshots | Smugmug

       
 

UPDATE HISTORY

Sep 17, 2011

Re-surveyed and accurately measured this waterfall

 
 
 
 
 

 

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