Updated 02/10/2023
During the pandemic, Bryan and I started hiking. We’d always gone for the occasional hike here and there, but during COVID we started hiking a lot. Hiking returned wonder, possibilities, and novelty to a world that had seemed to shrink and become filled with prohibitions. As the inaugural hike of this new era, the Lewis River Falls trail will always be special to us.
Sentimental attachments aside, though, the Lewis River Falls trail is objectively one of the top waterfall hikes in the Pacific Northwest—a difficult feat in this land of waterfalls. In today’s post, I’ll share the highlights of the Lewis River Falls hike and everything you need to know to visit this spectacular place yourself.
Lewis River Falls Trail Highlights
The headliner waterfalls on the Lewis River Falls trail are the unassumingly named Lower Lewis River Falls and Upper Lewis River Falls. Framing the waterfalls and the Lewis River is a lush forest with the occasional enormous old-growth tree. In midsummer, you’ll likely find ripe huckleberries along the trail.
It isn’t the waterfalls’ height, but their breadth and complexity, that’s staggering. Both waterfalls are far wider than they are tall, behemoth rock formations blocking the Lewis River and sending the water plunging into myriad unique cascades.
Any of a dozen cross-sections of either waterfall would be a “normal” destination waterfall in its own right. Looking out on Lower Lewis River Falls or Upper Lewis River Falls is like taking in several waterfalls at once. It’s one of those places that makes you feel acutely and totally alive.
For a video preview of this deeply special place, check out our highlights video below.
Lewis River Falls Trail Details
The full Lewis River Falls trail is 15 miles long in one direction and includes yet more waterfalls. The trail follows the Lewis River, a river that begins at nearby Mount Adams. It’s popular to hike smaller sections of the Lewis River Falls trail as day hikes.
I’d recommend the stretch between Lower Lewis River Falls and Upper Lewis River Falls, which is just over 6 miles roundtrip. You’ll pass three major waterfalls (Lower, Middle, and Upper Lewis River Falls), as well as the smaller Copper Creek Falls. If you’d like, you can also extend the hike slightly to include a fifth waterfall, Taitnapum Falls, making it 6.6 miles altogether. Check out this entry on Oregon Hikers for the trail map for this option.
Lower, Middle, and Upper Lewis River Falls are named according to the order they appear on the river. The Lower Falls are the furthest downstream, and Upper Falls are the furthest upstream. Here’s a quick rundown of each of these waterfalls:
Lower Lewis River Falls
Lower Lewis River Falls cascades over wide and terraced moss-covered cliffs into a pool below that’s at once clear and a captivating green. On hot summer days, swimmers wade out into the pool below the waterfall. Interpretive signs on site explain this was once a prime salmon-fishing spot for Native Americans, since the salmon had trouble crossing the huge Lower Falls.
It seems nowhere could be more beautiful than this, but just a few miles upriver, Upper Lewis River Falls is in the running.
Middle Lewis River Falls
Middle Lewis River Falls is harder to see than the other two waterfalls because the angle of the river blocks a full view of the waterfall from the riverbank. It’s a nice river viewpoint either way.
Upper Lewis River Falls
I’d guess that at least 90% of park visitors stay around Lower Lewis River Falls. As you hike upstream on the Lewis River Falls trail, the number of people on the trail drops dramatically. By the time we reached Upper Lewis River Falls (on 4th of July weekend), there was no one else around, and we had the Upper Falls to ourselves. Upper Lewis River Falls has a tranquility that’s rare in a waterfall so striking.
The water splits into intricate cascades over wide mossy cliffs, and rainbows form where the mist catches the light. It has the special quality many of us seek when going out into nature: the ability to simultaneously inspire a sense of both awe and peace.
Just How Large are the Lewis River Waterfalls?
Here are the stats on Lower, Middle, and Upper Falls, per the Northwest Waterfall Survey:
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Lower Lewis River Falls: 43 feet tall, 200 feet wide
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Middle Lewis River Falls: 33 feet tall, 300 feet wide
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Upper Lewis River Falls: 58 feet tall, 175 feet wide
Lower Lewis River Falls Campground
Part of the reason Lower Lewis River Falls is crowded is that it’s right next to the campground. Camping here is a great option if you’d like to make a weekend of your trip and explore multiple trails in the area.
Lower Lewis River Falls Campground is open seasonally from mid-May until October. Reservations can be made online here. It’s very popular, so plan ahead as much as possible. Reservations are accepted up to 6 months ahead.
Lewis River Falls Parking Permit
Planning ahead is key for a good experience on the Lewis River Falls hike. If you go during the peak season (in 2022, that’s June 15 – September 6), you need to reserve a Lewis River Falls parking permit in advance. Check the website for the latest details in the year you visit. This is a popular area with limited parking, and it commonly sells out on weekends.
Make sure to make your reservation before you head out, because cell phone reception is pretty much nonexistent near Lewis River Falls. Once you get close, it’s too late! The Forest Service also requires a printed proof of purchase to put on your dashboard, so it’s really best to get the permit when you have a chance of finding a printer.
When we visited last, we passed someone who hadn’t bought his parking permit in advance. Unfortunately, he drove all the way there and couldn’t do the hike. Lewis River Falls is in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, over two hours by car from Portland, so he likely drove a long way before realizing he wouldn’t be able to get in. Yikes!
The Lewis River Falls trail has several trailheads along its length, and you can park at any of them. If you’d like to do the ~6-mile hike described here, I’d recommend parking at one of these lots:
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Upper Falls
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Middle Falls
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Wright Meadows
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Lower Falls
Since the Lewis River Falls trail parallels the river, you can park in various lots along it and just begin your hike in a different place depending on the lot.
Reservations can be made online at Recreation.gov (search for Lewis River Recreation Area). Parking permits are only $2 as of 2022, but if you park at Lower Lewis River Falls, you’ll also need an America the Beautiful Pass, Northwest Forest Pass, or a $5 day pass.
In addition to being more expensive, the Lower Lewis River Falls parking lot is also the most likely to be sold out. If you’re planning to hike, there’s not much reason to park at Lower Falls over the other lots, though. We parked at Middle Falls, so we first hiked downriver to Lower Lewis River Falls and then circled back, passing Middle Lewis River Falls again in the middle of our hike, and continuing on to Upper Lewis River Falls.
A quick heads-up about the road:
As you approach the entrance to the Lewis River Recreation Area, the road gets a little questionable. It looks fine at a glance, but it has the occasional giant dip that’s tricky to see and hard for a car with low clearance (like ours!) to navigate. Despite slowing down, we still managed to hit one. It sounded fairly alarming, but luckily didn’t seem to cause substantial damage.
Other Gifford Pinchot National Forest Waterfalls
While you’re in the area, a couple other stunning waterfalls in Gifford Pinchot National Forest are Panther Creek Falls and Falls Creek Falls. Click the links to check out our blog posts on each!
Other Adventures in the Pacific Northwest
Thanks for joining us on the Lewis River Falls trail! For more adventure ideas in the Pacific Northwest, check out our PNW Trip Planner. You can find adventures near you and filter by season and difficulty level. There are weird and wonderful things to explore any time of year. The trip planner links to blog posts to help you plan your next adventure.
Happy exploring!
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