What an amazing trail! Eagle creek takes you through a beautiful canyon with sheer rock ledges, moss covered fir and so many waterfalls it is hard to keep count! Eagle Creek is one of those special trails that is gorgeous and offers something wowing and different every step of the way. Be sure you at least go as far as Tunnel Falls--and go through the tunnel behind the falls! What an unique experience!! This trail is relatively easy with minimal elevation gain and took us about 6 hours(granted we gawked and played around a lot). The lower spur trail to punchbowl falls will take you to a gorgeous canyon floor, however, you have to walk into the water if you want to see the falls from that angle because the water is pretty high. Once you get passed the fourth bridge,the trail becomes a little bit of a fun obstacle course with some downed trees, a really fun mudpit and a stream crossing with a narrow log bridge. So much FUN!! I highly recommend this hike to anyone visiting the gorge!! Side note: we only encountered a handful of people--go on a weekday and start early so you can fully enjoy the magic of the place!

Finally got to do this hike! No camping before High Bridge at 3.3 miles. Other than that it was very easy hike as everyone has said. I was going to camp but was misinformed about where the sites were. I showed up too close to sunset so just hiked it with a head lamp so I could go farther faster.

I was in Portland for the weekend and took the opportunity to spend a sunny Sunday at Eagle Creek. It was just me, my family, and about 4000 other hikers. We started by parking on the other side of the freeway which must have added a mile or more to the trip, then hit the trail at noon. There were some shady wooded parts, but most of this trail is out in the sun. Bring lots of water or a filter to fill up from the creek. This trail was blasted out of the rock in the early 1900s. There are cable handrails for the steep narrow parts. This would be a challenge if you're afraid of heights but we never felt like it was too risky or dangerous. There are a number of bridges along the way. One was damaged last winter but it's easy enough to cross the creek. You will see beautiful waterfalls along the way and find a couple places for cooling off in the creek but Tunnel Falls was the highlight for us. It's huge and powerful and so beautiful. A little piece of paradise. We spent 7 hours on the trail. Stopped for lunch and swimming twice. At one point on the way back the crowd by Punchbowl Falls was so bad it reminded me of Christmas shopping at the mall. It really is an unforgettable trail. We all have sore feet from walking on the rocky trail but I'd do it again, perhaps on a weekday when it's not so crowded.

This was my first hike in the PNW and it was amazing! It was beautiful from start to finish (I stopped at the falls). I think it really helped that I went on a Thursday so it wasn't crowded and after I passed the punch bowl, there was barely anyone.

My friend and I started out early in the morning, especially since we are traveling from WA. We knew it will be long hike to Tunnel Falls. Otherwise, it was good weather, mostly sunny, slightly chilly in the AM as one would expect. There was one bridge that was out of order. Appears that branches had fallen on it. However, it did not stop us, as we were able to maneuver around it, or I should say "under" it. It wasn't too much of a drop, and there were others there that were able to make it safely to the other side. There is a cable that you could hold on to, as far as walking on the rocky parts, that could be slippery if wet. Hold on to your children and encourage to hold on! Upon reaching Tunnel Falls, you could also walk through a tunnel that goes behind the falls. Sat on the edge and ate our lunch there with the falls as our view. Otherwise, the path was clear. So start early if you want to enjoy without other people's company. At Tunnel Falls, there was some people that were able to climb to the bottom of the falls, steep though. However, there was a sighting of a Cougar in the area that was reported by other hikers. We were already on our way back from Tunnel Falls (making it at the end). We just followed along with other hikers, making our group "bigger", safer in numbers and had our whistles and knives ready, just in case. Otherwise, good amount of people around, and it did get more "crowded" in the afternoon. Altogether, I would totally make this hike again!