Ranger Tales
Multnomah Falls and the Waterfall Loop
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Multnomah Falls and the Waterfall Loop

28 stops· 40 min· 32.1 mi· narrated by Ranger Quinn

🎧 Listen in the app
The tour

A self-guided audio driving tour of the Columbia River Gorge waterfalls with Ranger Quinn — the wall of falls on the Historic Highway, the crown jewel Multnomah with its short walk to Benson Bridge, the easy stroll to Lower Latourell, and campfire tales from Ranger Boone Merrick.

The route

Driving route · 28 stops. The full interactive map with live pins lives in the app.

Every stop

What you'll see and hear

28 narrated stops along the way — waterfalls, overlooks, history, and Ranger Boone's campfire tales.

  1. Bridal Veil at the Falls
    01

    💧 Bridal Veil at the Falls

    Bridal Veil Falls (Oregon): The Bridal Veil Falls is a waterfall located on Bridal Veil Creek along the Columbia River Gorge in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the historic Co…

    Bridal Veil at the Falls guide →
  2. Welcome to the Gorge
    02

    🎧 Welcome to the Gorge

    Ranger Quinn here — slide your seat back and settle in, because there's a long, easy stretch of open freeway ahead of you, and I mean to use every minute of it. Welcome to the Multnomah Falls and the Waterfall Loop…

  3. Multnomah Exit — Permit Check
    03

    • Multnomah Exit — Permit Check

    Exit thirty-one is coming up on your Left — the Multnomah Falls turnoff, about a mile out. Got your timed-use permit in hand? Ease into the left lane and take it; two minutes from now you'll be standing under the tall…

  4. Boone's Tale: The Maiden of Multnomah
    04

    🔥 Boone's Tale: The Maiden of Multnomah

    Pull in close now, and you might lower your voice a touch, because the tale that belongs to this place is a solemn one. They call me Ranger Boone Merrick, and the people of this river have been telling this story a lo…

  5. Horsetail Falls
    05

    💧 Horsetail Falls

    Eyes Left — Horsetail Falls, one hundred and seventy-six feet of water dropping right at the edge of the pavement. The name's no accident: it doesn't fan or step, it falls in one tight, swinging plume, exactly like a…

    Horsetail Falls guide →
  6. Oneonta Gorge
    06

    🎧 Oneonta Gorge

    Eyes left, and watch for a crack in the world. Just ahead is Oneonta Gorge, and this one breaks every rule the road's taught you so far. There's no big plunge to point your finger at. Instead you're looking into a s…

  7. Wahkeena Falls
    07

    💧 Wahkeena Falls

    Wahkeena Falls, coming up on your right — and after all the straight plunges you've watched leap clean off the cliffs, this one's a different creature. Wahkeena doesn't drop. It dances. Two hundred and forty-two feet…

    Wahkeena Falls guide →
  8. Bridal Veil Falls
    08

    💧 Bridal Veil Falls

    Bridal Veil's turnoff is coming up on your right, the river side. Here's the odd one in the bunch. Every fall you've met today leaps out above the road, big and out in the open — Bridal Veil hides below you, tucked do…

    Bridal Veil Falls guide →
  9. Shepperd's Dell
    09

    💧 Shepperd's Dell

    Eyes right — Shepperd's Dell sneaks up on you, a small pullout right where the road crosses a low stone bridge. Pull in, and walk to the railing. Look down into the cleft below your boots: that's the dell, a slender t…

    Shepperd's Dell guide →
  10. Latourell Falls
    10

    💧 Latourell Falls

    There she is — Latourell, two hundred and forty-nine feet of water dropping clean off a sheer wall of black basalt. Here's what sets this one apart from everything else on the road: it plunges out free of the cliff an…

    Latourell Falls guide →
  11. Guy Talbot State Park
    11

    🎧 Guy Talbot State Park

    Roll your window down for this part, if the weather lets you. The waterfalls are behind you now — you've met the headliners — and for these next few miles the road does something different. It stops showing off and…

  12. Vista House at Crown Point
    12

    🌲 Vista House at Crown Point

    Eyes up the road — Crown Point, and that octagonal stone crown set right on the lip of the cliff: Vista House, seven hundred and thirty-three feet straight above the Columbia. Pull in if you possibly can. Crack your d…

    Vista House at Crown Point guide →
  13. The Story of the Gorge
    13

    🎧 The Story of the Gorge

    There she is in your mirror — Crown Point, Vista House on its thumb of rock — and that's the last of it. This is Quinn, riding out the final mile with you before these loops drop us to the freeway. Pull the camera bac…

  14. Walking section (park & walk)
    14

    • Walking section (park & walk)

  15. Walking section (park & walk)
    15

    • Walking section (park & walk)

  16. Walking section (park & walk)
    16

    • Walking section (park & walk)

  17. Walking section (park & walk)
    17

    • Walking section (park & walk)

  18. Walking section (park & walk)
    18

    • Walking section (park & walk)

  19. Boone's Tale: Why It's Called Bridal Veil
    19

    🔥 Boone's Tale: Why It's Called Bridal Veil

    Walk easy down these steps a minute, and let me come along with you — there's more to this little path than meets the eye. Boone Merrick's the name, and you are climbing down into the strangest patch of ground on th…

  20. Multnomah Falls
    20

    🎧 Multnomah Falls

    Keep your eyes up as you walk in — that pale ribbon of white through the trees ahead is your first look at Multnomah Falls. Don't rush it. Let me set you up for what's coming, because this is a place worth doing rig…

  21. Stop 21
    21

    🎧 Stop 21

    Before you head up the trail, take a good look at the right here. That's the Multnomah Falls Lodge, and it has been standing here since nineteen twenty-five. A Portland architect named Albert Doyle drew it up, and h…

  22. At the Foot of Multnomah Falls
    22

    🌲 At the Foot of Multnomah Falls

    Look straight up. That's six hundred and twenty feet of water coming off the rim and down at your face, falling in two great steps — the upper plunge drops five hundred and forty-two feet on its own, then the creek ga…

    At the Foot of Multnomah Falls guide →
  23. Benson Bridge
    23

    🔥 Benson Bridge

    Multnomah Falls is a waterfall located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, east of Troutdale, between Corbett and Dodson, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the Historic Columbia River…

  24. Boone's Tale: The Man Who Gave It Away
    24

    🔥 Boone's Tale: The Man Who Gave It Away

    Keep climbing — don't you stop on my account, just put one boot in front of the other and let me walk these switchbacks up alongside you a while. Name's Ranger Boone Merrick. Your legs are starting to talk to you ab…

  25. Top of Multnomah Falls (the longer climb)
    25

    🎧 Top of Multnomah Falls (the longer climb)

    You made it — the top of Multnomah Falls, the crowd a long way below you now. You're right at the lip, where Multnomah Creek gathers itself and tips over the edge: five hundred and forty-two feet to the bench where Be…

  26. Lower Latourell Falls
    26

    🎧 Lower Latourell Falls

    Look straight up — there it is, coming off the rim two hundred and forty-nine feet over your head. Lower Latourell. And here's the first thing your eye catches: it never touches the wall. The creek launches off the li…

  27. Bridal Veil: Paddles and Paths
    27

    🎧 Bridal Veil: Paddles and Paths

    Bridal Veil Falls (Oregon): The Bridal Veil Falls is a waterfall located on Bridal Veil Creek along the Columbia River Gorge in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the historic Co…

  28. Bridal Veil: Paving The Way
    28

    🎧 Bridal Veil: Paving The Way

    Bridal Veil Falls (Oregon): The Bridal Veil Falls is a waterfall located on Bridal Veil Creek along the Columbia River Gorge in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. The waterfall is accessible from the historic Co…

Plan your visit

Good to know

How long is the Multnomah Falls and the Waterfall Loop tour?
The tour has 28 stops over about 32.1 miles with roughly 40 min of narrated audio. You set the pace — pause, linger, or skip ahead anytime.
Do I need cell signal to use the tour?
No. Download the tour before you go and it works completely offline — the audio plays by GPS even with no bars, which is exactly where most park tours lose signal.
How does a self-guided audio tour work?
You explore the route at your own pace and the Ranger Tales app plays the story for each stop automatically when you arrive, using your phone's location. No tapping, no reading while you explore. Ranger Quinn guides and Ranger Boone tells the campfire tales.
Where does the Multnomah Falls and the Waterfall Loop tour take place?
Columbia River Gorge (Oregon). A wall of waterfalls along the Historic Columbia River Highway east of Portland — Multnomah, Wahkeena, Horsetail, Latourell, Bridal Veil, and more, strung along one unforgettable drive.
How do I get the tour?
Download the free Ranger Tales app from the App Store, then unlock this tour inside the app. The tour downloads to your phone so it's ready offline before you arrive.
🎧 Get the tour

Multnomah Falls and the Waterfall Loop — in your pocket

Download the app, unlock the tour, and let it explore with you. Works offline.

Get it on the App Store
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