Eagle Creek Trail is closed through October, and a chunk of cliff at Punch Bowl Falls is why
Eagle Creek Trail took three years to reopen after the 2017 wildfire that scorched the Columbia Gorge. It’s been closed again since January, and this time there’s no fire to blame.
The Forest Service shut down Eagle Creek Trail #440 on January 21, 2026, and the order runs through October 31 — right through peak hiking season. As of this writing, the trail’s own page still lists current conditions as closed.
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What actually happened
December’s atmospheric river dumped a season’s worth of rain on the Gorge in about five days. More than 90 trees came down across Eagle Creek Trail, and one of them landed directly on the safety rail system at Punch Bowl Falls — arguably the single most photographed spot on the entire trail.
Crews found roughly three feet of mud piled across the first stretch of trail on top of that, along with fresh landslides and washed-out tread on multiple cliffside sections. The ground here is still fire-scarred from 2017, and dead root systems don’t hold a slope together the way live trees do.
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Two nearby hikes that are actually open
Good news: the Gorge has other cliffside waterfall hikes, and two of the best are open right now.
Wahclella Falls sits about a mile from Eagle Creek’s own trailhead and took similar storm damage after the 2017 fire — its own bridge needed replacing in 2020. It’s currently open, and it’s an easier hike anyway: 2.4 miles round trip through a narrowing slot canyon to a 350-foot, two-tiered waterfall with a genuinely enormous splash pool at the bottom. Day use runs $5 per vehicle, or bring a valid Recreation Pass.
Latourell Falls, out past Crown Point on the Historic Columbia River Highway, skips the fire-scarred terrain entirely. Walk five minutes from the parking area and you’re standing under a 224-foot plunge over columnar basalt. Keep going and the 2-mile loop climbs to Upper Latourell Falls, the third-tallest waterfall in the entire Gorge, dropping in two tiers into a pool most people have completely to themselves on a weekday.
One thing’s changed here too: as of March 30, 2026, Latourell’s trailhead joined Oregon State Parks’ day-use fee program. It’s $10 for Oregon residents, $12 for out-of-state visitors, good for the whole day at any fee park — or $60/$75 for an annual pass if you’re making a habit of this.
Either one makes an easy half-day trip from Portland, and honestly? Skipping the crowds that usually pack Eagle Creek on a summer weekend isn’t the worst consolation prize.
Trip tips: grab a rental car to get out here, or lock in your hotel in Portland before the good rooms are gone.
Rules and fees change — always confirm current requirements before you go.
