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The 178 foot high,
15 foot wide Horsetail Falls plunges down a cliff on the northwest side
of Larch Mountain in the shape of a giant, white horsetail. Water flows
over the falls throughout the entire year.
Horsetail Falls can
be viewed from the
Historic Columbia
River Highway
but a short,
half-mile trail takes you to the top of the falls and, surprise, another
waterfall: Ponytail Falls (also called Upper Horsetail Falls). Another
surprise - the trail takes you behind the falls!
Ainsworth State
Park has
several picnic tables but no water or restrooms are available.
For photos of
Horsetail Falls, see:
For more
information about Horsetail Falls, you may phone the Columbia River
Gorge National Scenic Area in Hood River at 800-551-6949 (toll-free) or
503-695-2261.
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in column 2) |
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from column 1)
How to get
there:
From I-84, if
westbound, take exit 35 (Ainsworth), then take the old highway (now
called the Historic Columbia River Highway) and head west (toward
Portland) to the parking area. If eastbound, take exit 28 (Bridal Veil)
and head east about 6 miles to the parking area.
An interesting
side note: The Union Pacific train, Portland Rose, which began service
between Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon, in 1930 was heralded
as “A Triumph in Train Comfort.” As a special bonus to its passengers,
an open top observation car was added on the rear of the train for the
section of track in the Columbia River Gorge between The Dalles and
Portland. This allowed easy viewing of Horseshoe Falls and the many
other waterfalls along the Columbia River. For a photo, see:
Union Pacific Observation Car |
