Arrived just before 9am on a Saturday. The main parking lot was full, so we parked in an overflow lot that added .25 miles. This trail is very easy, very well graded and has a lot of great view points along the way. Trail can be narrow at times when you are high up. Ropes are in place along the cliff walls if needed. I never felt unsafe and I am afraid of heights. We made it to Tunnel Falls in 2.5 hours. We forgot to add the side trip to Twister Falls, which we heard was only another half mile past Tunnel Falls. It took us 2.5 hours to get back to the car including a 20 minute break to let our dog swim in the river. We stayed at Eagle Creek campground that night. AllTrails said this trail gains 2000 feet - I don't believe that, the trail rarely had steep sections.

It was a fun and sunny day! Just shy of 13 miles round trip and 5 hours total.

My group of four (three seniors) arrived at the trailhead at 7:30 on Junteenth. There was plenty of parking at the trailhead and three portapotties. The weather was cloudy at first but the sun broke through later and alternated with clouds. We hiked the 6.25 or so miles to Twister Falls and back, taking our time for breaks and photos, and returned to the trailhead around 5:30...a long day, but so worth it! There were other hikers, but the trail wasn't crowded. We found the trail long but not that hard; probably the worst was the rocky parts which resulted in somewhat sore feet despite wearing hiking boots. There were some muddy and wet sections, but not too bad.  One stream crossing about 1 mile before Tunnel Falls took some maneuvering. It wouldn't have been dangerous to fall in the water, but no one wanted to get wet. You could see lots of dead trees on the hillsides and many black trunks along the trail, but with water trickling down the cliffs, there were lots of ferns and moss, thimbleberries, and other shrubs, so green and beautiful. There were lots of wildflowers, and oh, the waterfalls! Three of us had hiked this trail years before the fire, and we didn't remember seeing so many then. Punchbowl Falls can be seen clearly from a viewpoint a little up the trail from the fenced viewpoint, and you can see Skoonichuk and Loowit Falls better, too. We loved Tunnel Falls and had lunch by Twister Falls. It's hard to pick out four pictures. The only thing that puzzles me is what the elevation gain is for this trail. My Fitbit registered 68 floors, which is just over 600 feet. WTA reports over 1000 and AllTrails over 2000?

It was a perfect day to hike, sunny and warm with blue skies. 

Started from the Eagle Creek Campground and hiked to Twister Falls. Clocked just shy of 16 miles round trip. 

Snakes are out, but didn't see anything dangerous. Lots of people on the trail, some who don't understand right of way or that the trails are too skinny to pass in some areas. 

There's a tricky water crossing near Wy'east Falls where several people slipped into the creek. It's worth getting wet to make it to Tunnel and Twister falls. 

Just of note, while the usda.gov site says of the trail "Area Status: Open" it is currently gated and closed. There was signage on the gate indicating a there is a landslide. We did not go around the gate a chose a different trail in the area instead.

Thanks to Old Rod for the update (5/18/2022):  "UPDATE: Pacific Crest Trail Association, Mount Hood Chapter and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area - U.S. Forest Service Trail Crew came together to clear the trail of mudslide debris. The fencing has been removed and the trail is now open to the public."

Also HUGE thanks to all the people that put in the time and work to get this trail open again so quickly!!

*****

Didn't actually try to hike this today, but saw this on the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area FB page and wanted to pass it along. Link below to FB post.  Photo of the slide in this report is from the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area FB page.