We were staying in Camas for a few days to visit family, so Multnomah Falls was a nice nearby hiking option. We picked up some trail pastries at La Provence Patisserie, and pulled off the freeway to park at the falls about 11 a.m. It was a during a cold snap, so the temperature was only a few degrees above freezing even at that time of day.
The lot was only about a third full, but we encountered a lot of people around the lower viewing area and quite a few on the trail, though the number of hikers dwindled the further we got. Because of the dry and cold weather, most of the trail was completely dry and free of ice, though the bridge and the observation landing just above it were both wet and icy. With a toddler on my back and my wife carrying our 2-month-old on her front, we had to step gingerly at that first switch-back to avoid slipping. This was the only area of ice we encountered until well beyond the top of the falls farther up trail. In the Dutchman Falls to Ecola Falls stretch, there were a couple small icy areas, with the only tricky spot being at the first switchback after Weisendanger Falls.
It took us about 45 minutes to reach the lookout at the top of Multnomah Falls, and then another 30 to our turnaround point at Ecola Falls. Our total hiking time was 2 hours 20 minutes, and we covered a total of 3.8 miles with 1015' elevation gain. We encountered a couple dozen people on the trail once beyond the Lower Falls bridge.
Reminder: With the current situations regarding USFS and NPS staffing, please give an extra big thank you to the volunteers who man the USFS information center in Multnomah Lodge. Volunteers are always invaluable, and will be needed even more than normal this year it seems.
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