Northwest Waterfall Survey: Ruckel Creek Falls

Ruckel Creek possesses one of the least appreciated waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge. This is in part due to its overshadowing by the popular Eagle Creek Trail, accessed from the same exit, but also because the falls aren't easily noticed. When the surrounding trees are bare, the falls can be seen from Interstate 84, but otherwise are only visible to those hiking a rarely used section of the old Historic Highway trail. The mossy cliffs and the ornate stonework of the bridge above the 46 foot falls makes for a very photogenic scene. The creek has a moderately small drainage and as a result the falls don't have a lot of "oomph" later in the summer, but are exceptionally scenic during the spring months.

Total Height: 46 feet

Tallest Drop: 46 feet

Num of Drops: 1

Avg. Width: 5 feet

Max. Width: 10 feet

Pitch: 70 degrees

Run: 20 feet

Form: Horsetail

Watershed: Columbia River (Snake River to Portland)

Stream: Ruckel Creek

Avg. Volume: 25.0 cu ft/sec

Source:

Flow Consistency: 12 months

Best Flow:

Ruckel Creek Waterfalls

There are some solid waterfalls on Ruckel Creek above this one, but it takes some fairly difficult, off trail scrambling to reach them. I may add some information and links about them to this page later. I haven't visited them yet, myself.

They are NOT accessed by the Ruckel Creek Trailhead (just past this waterfall) on the State Trail.

RopeWiki.com: Ruckel Creek

Update: August 2019. Ruckel Creek was overrun by the Eagle Creek wildfire in Sept 2017 and has been closed. Please check on local closures before planning a trip to this area. When the area reopens, please use extreme caution when descending the creek. Between landslides, fallen trees, and loose rocks, this area may be very unstable and dangerous for some time to come. The canyon may have changed dramatically. Do not rely on the beta below being accurate.

Ruckel Creek is the major drainage just north of the Gorge's famous Ruckel Ridge trail - a classic conditioning hike. Ruckel has a number of majestic falls beginning around 1200' elevation although they are somewhat widely spaced apart. This creek would be run more frequently if one did not have to hike up some 2000ft before dropping into the creek. Ruckel's flow likely drops significantly most years in July. Expect a long-ish day out if you are not accustomed to bushwhacking and stream-walking.

Beware copious amounts of poison oak along the trail.

Middle Ruckel Creek Falls

"Ruckel Creek is known for the pretty, though somewhat lacking waterfall found just below its crossing of the Historic Columbia Gorge Highway trail. However as one progresses upstream, the falls get more and more impressive. This is the lower of two mapped waterfalls about a mile above the mouth of the creek. The falls plunge over the ubiquitous undercut basalt cliffs seen so frequently in the Columbia Gorge, falling for a little under 70 feet."

May 12, 2020

There are more waterfalls upstream, but I don't have the time to go through them all right now. On the list for after finishing the rebuild (along with better pictures of the lower falls under the highway when I get my drives back...)

Links

RopeWiki.com: Ruckel Creek

http://ropewiki.com/Ruckel_Creek

CLICK HERE to continue exploring the highway