Beautiful area to hike around. Not always a trail but one cane always see where one is. 

This is a great winter hike - no/low elevation gain, wide trail, payoff with the waterfall and multiple places (by the waterfall) to break off the main trail and eat a quick lunch. There are a few signs of dumping (rusted out cars, tires, etc) but nothing that ruins the hike. No trash on the trail otherwise. Packed out some broken glass, but use your best judgement. :)

There were 5 cars at the trailhead when we parked, 10 cars when we got back, but we only ever saw one other couple the entire time we were out. There must be more trails in echo basin worth checking out. Also coming back to check out the feathers up top. 

Blog version (disclaimers)

Quick-and-dirty version

Access: Old Vantage Road at mile 2.6
Round Trip: 5.3 miles
Elevation Range: 740′-1310′
Gear: none
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes

Approach

1. From the gate, travel southbound and then attain the coulee rim from the southwest end of the Echo Basin.
2. Travel counterclockwise to reach the northwest rim.
3. Hike down on the climbers' path to get back to the gate.

Highlights

• Expansive view of the coulee and Columbia River
• Solitude and sunshine

Lowlights

• Hearing music blasting in the coulee at the start of the hike

We are climbing Eldorado Peak Northeast Face. Yay, finally we get to climb some ice!
... no you don’t, the Cascade River road is closed, can’t reach the trailhead.
Fine, then we are climbing Observation Rock. Yay, finally we get to climb some ice!
... no you don’t, the access road to Mowich Lake is closed.
Fine, then we stay home!
... no way I am staying home; I booked this day for a climbing trip, I am going climbing, rain or shine! Who’s up for Vantage?

Routes climbed:
- Under Duress 5.8 and Duress 5.9 (those are two routes on top of each other) - Nate led, I top-roped.
- Coyote Ugly trad - Nate led, I top roped (rating?)
- Air Guitar 5.10A trad - Nate led, I top-roped. It’s always a pleasure to climb this route as most of it requires typical crack-climbing hand and foot jamming moves. Leading it? Maybe when I grow up?
- Vantage Point 5.8 - I led, with lots of resting
- Crossing The Threshold 5.8 trad - Nate led, I top-roped
- Clip ‘em or skip ‘em 5.8 - I led

I was pretty lazy and low on energy and my leading was not up to my expectations; this is what 7 months without going to the climbing gym and a summer poor in cragging events would do to you. However when I get negative thoughts like that I remind myself that there’s no use in complaining since it could have been worse - I could have stayed home.

We took some friends to wander around this beautiful area before going to a show at the Gorge. It's just a 15 minute drive or less from there and it's a great place to stretch your legs after a long drive.

We didn't follow any particular trail, but rather explored the rock formations and walked along the canyon and watched some rock climbers on the Feathers. There's plenty of places to park, some of which have pit toilets. there's plenty of dispersed camping with your Discover Pass as well. We didn't drive all the way down the road but would like to one day. In the past, I've hiked up above the Feathers where trails criss cross through the meadow.