Latourell Falls along Columbia River Gorge

Latourell Falls is a waterfall along the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, just outside Portland, within Guy W. Talbot State Park. Latourell is unique among the best-known Columbia Gorge waterfalls, in the way that it drops straight down from an overhanging basalt cliff.

I went there on November 17, 2024, a cloudy day with occasional light rains. It was early in the morning, I decent from parking lot to the bottom of the Latourell falls through a narrow trail. I was the only person at the lower Latourell Falls at the time, enjoyed the foliage in solitude. I took selfies using a small tripod. The color was dominantly yellow, with spotted red and brown. A few minutes later, a couple with their daughter, came by, and the mother volunteered to take pictures of me in front of the falls. They marched on, and I lingered a bit longer. 

One thing I noticed was the moss on tree trunks, just like in tropical areas, like we observed at South island of New Zealand . The moist for moss to grow there comes from the mist of the water falls.

the lower Latourell Falls

Latourell Creek Bridge

Trail by the creek

Latourell Bridge

moss on trees by the Latourell Falls

Mist from lower Latourell Falls

I did not know that there is loop trail around the water falls, which goes from the lower falls to upper falls. I walked back to the parking lot and climbed the hill from the trailhead at the parking lot to get to the upper falls. The trail is narrow and the fallen leaves and saturated soil made the trail slippery. 

Again I was the only person on the trail, all the way to the upper trail. The upper falls is much shorter than lower falls, otherwise they are very similar. I saw the mist from lower falls from above, and I saw some birds in the bushes and trees.

I encountered several groups on the decent, retraced my uphill hike, a group of 3 young men, likely high school students or college students, a father with 2 girls, a middle aged couple.

It took me about 1 hour to complete the 2 mile up and down trek. 

Upper Latourell Falls

foliage at Latourell Falls

My track at Latourell Falls