Ponytail Falls Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
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- Start point: Horsetail Falls Trailhead
- End Point: Ponytail Falls
- Trail Log : Trail Log
- Hike Type: Out and Back
- Distance: 0.8 miles round trip
- Elevation gain: 320 feet
- High point: 350 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: Year-round except during winter storms
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: Yes
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Hike Description
This is the easiest waterfall hike in the gorge. You get a stunning waterfall at the trailhead and a second one less than half a mile up the trail. Both Ponytail Falls and Horsetail Falls are part of the Oneonta Natural Area, designated for its "dramatic chasms" and unique flora.
The trail begins at Horsetail Falls, one of the most scenic trailheads anywhere. Plan on a little time before or after you hike to view and photograph the falls. The Horsetail Falls Trail #438 begins climbing two easily graded switchbacks with beautiful rock walls. Some tall old-growth trees scorched by the Eagle Creek Fire were cut down in the area, so the slope is more open than it used to be. Burned maples are coming back from their lignotubers, and thimbleberry, snowberry, trailing blackberry, and phacelia exhibit rampant growth in the wake of the fire. Soon, you'll pass your first trail junction, where the Gorge Trail #400 heads east.
Keep right at the junction and, after four more switchbacks, the trail levels out to traverse below basalt cliffs. You'll get views to the Oneonta Wetlands across the railroad. After 4/10 of a mile, the trail suddenly turns into the small ravine containing Ponytail Falls. In literally a few steps, you leave the modern freeway noise and enter a different world as you pass an unmaintained user trail that clambers up the roots of a Douglas-fir on your left. (This is the route, closed since the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire, that leads to the Rock of Ages Arch.) The main trail passes behind Ponytail Falls in a cavernous overhang eroded beneath a lava flow. Turning big-leaf maples and vine maples make this a beautiful hike in the autumn, specifically late October through early November.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- Green Trails Maps: Bridal Veil, OR #428
- Green Trails Maps: Columbia River Gorge - West #428S
- Geo-Graphics: Trails of the Columbia Gorge
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service/Bureau of Land Management: Columbia River Gorge
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Zigzag Ranger District
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Mt. Hood National Forest
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map: Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
Fees, Regulations, Facilties, etc.
- Picnic tables, information kiosk
- Dogs on leash
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Ponytail Falls Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Ponytail Falls Hike
- Rockslide on trail near Ponytail Fals
- Cutting the switchbacks at Ponytail Falls
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Oregon: The Creaky Knees Guide by Seabury Blair, Jr.
- Best Hikes With Kids: Oregon by Bonnie Henderson & Zach Urness
- Hiking the Columbia River Gorge by Russ Schneider; revised by Jim Yuskavitch
- Hiking Waterfalls in Oregon by Adam Sawyer
- 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington by William L. Sullivan
- Trips and Trails: Oregon by William L. Sullivan
- Columbia Gorge Getaways by Laura O. Foster
- 70 Virtual Hikes of the Columbia River Gorge by Northwest Hiker
- Curious Gorge by Scott Cook
- Portland Hikes by Art Bernstein & Andrew Jackman
- Columbia River Gorge: 42 Scenic Hikes by Don & Roberta Lowe
- 35 Hiking Trails: Columbia River Gorge by Don & Roberta Lowe
- 100 Oregon Hiking Trails by Don & Roberta Lowe
- Short Trips and Trails: the Columbia Gorge by Oral Bullard & Don Lowe
- Oregon Hiking by Sean Patrick Hill
- Pacific Northwest Hiking by Scott Leonard & Sean Patrick Hill
- Waterfall Lover's Guide: Pacific Northwest by Gregory A.Plumb
- Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest by David L. Anderson
- Canine Oregon by Lizann Dunegan
More Links
- Horsetail Falls & Trail (#438) (USFS)
- Horsetail Falls and Ponytail Falls (All Trails)
- Horsetail Falls Loop (Friends of the Columbia Gorge)
- Horsetail ~ Ponytail Falls Loop Hike (Northwest Hiker)
- "These Columbia River Gorge hikes reopened on 'Green Friday'" (KGW8)
- "Horsetail Falls hiking death a grim reminder of outdoor dangers" (Oregon Live)
- "Horsetail Falls, Oregon" (The Columbia River: A Photographic Journey)
- Ponytail Falls (Scenic USA)
- Remember Me: Ponytail Falls (T.J. Thorne)
- Horsetail Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)
- Horsetail Falls (World of Waterfalls)
- Horsetail Falls (Waterfalls West)
- Ponytail Falls (Upper Horsetail Falls) (World of Waterfalls)
- Ponytail Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)
Contributors
- Stevefromdodge (creator)