Lower Punch Bowl Falls
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Hikes including this location
- Weather forecast: NWS/NOAA
- Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
- Latitude, Longitude: 45.62333, -121.89538
- Elevation: 340 feet
- Height: 15 feet
- Stream: Eagle Creek
Description
Lower Punch Bowl Falls has a bit of an identity problem. The waterfall is ever overshadowed by its upstream neighbor, Punch Bowl Falls. Even the name is borrowed; Lower Punch Bowl isn't even a punchbowl type waterfall. Lower Punch Bowl is a magnet to hordes of swimmers and sunbathers on hot summer days. If you can come early on a summer weekday, or in the off-season, this can be a place of enchanting solitude - as you sit relaxing at the water's edge surrounded by tall, dripping, gorge walls and old growth forest.
When you get to the creek, you'll notice a massive amount of debris across the water and a fresh scar on the cliffs opposite. This landslide, just above Lower Punch Bowl Falls, occurred near the beginning of 2018 and initially blocked the creek. While hikers used to be able to work their way up the wide open, cobbled shoreline to a view of Punch Bowl Falls about a hundred yards upstream, this is now a rocky scramble. In addition, since the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire, a large logjam has developed just below Lower Punch Bowl Falls.
More Links
- Lower Punch Bowl Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)
- Cliff Collapse at Punch Bowl Falls! (WyEast Blog)
Contributors
- stevefromdodge (creator)