Qualla: Horsetail Falls

Horsetail Falls: Introduction

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mike Fisher, CC BY 2.0. The columnar basalt cliff face is curved just so, worn by millennia of water into a smooth, rounded surface that causes the falling creek to spread and flow in a distinctive pattern. Stand below Horsetail Falls in the Columbia River Gorge and you understand immediately how it earned its name: the water does not simply drop but streams downward in long, separated strands, catching air and light in ways that genuinely evoke a horse's tail caught in wind. Unlike many of the Gorge's famous cascades, this one requires no hike to reach. It tumbles directly beside the Historic Columbia River Highway, visible from the road, accessible within steps of where you park. Yet for those willing to climb, an upper falls awaits, one with a trail that passes behind the falling water itself.

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Image: Mike Fisher | CC BY 2.0

Horsetail Falls: The Shape of Falling Water

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit James St. John, CC BY 2.0. Geology created the distinctive form of Horsetail Falls. The water of Horsetail Creek drops over a cut in the columnar basalt cliff within the Oneonta Gorge, but it is the rounded, overhanging shape of the rock face that gives the falls their character. As water cascades over thi...

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Image: James St. John | CC BY 2.0

Horsetail Falls: Two Falls, One Creek

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Photo courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service., Public domain. There are actually two waterfalls along Horsetail Creek, connected by a trail that climbs the forested slopes above the highway. The lower falls, the famous Horsetail Falls itself, sits roadside and accessible. But continue up the trail and you reach Upper Horsetail Falls, also k...

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Image: Photo courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. | Public domain

Horsetail Falls: Dangers Along the Trail

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Photo by Sara Wilson, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service., Public domain. The beauty of the Gorge trails masks genuine hazards. In May 2016, a tragedy unfolded at Horsetail Falls when 37-year-old Stephanie Cohen attempted to rescue her son after the footing at the trailhead gave way beneath him. She fell dozens of feet and was fatally injured; her son ...

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Image: Photo by Sara Wilson, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. | Public domain

Horsetail Falls: A Century-Old Bridge, Modernized

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown artist, Public domain. The Horsetail Falls Bridge carries the Historic Columbia River Highway across the creek just below the falls. Built in 1914, this reinforced concrete slab span is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure to the highway's historic designation....

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Image: Unknown artist | Public domain

Horsetail Falls: The Waterfall Corridor

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Bobjgalindo, CC BY-SA 4.0. Horsetail Falls is one jewel in what travelers along the Historic Columbia River Highway call the waterfall corridor, a stretch of road where cascade after cascade presents itself to drivers and hikers. The easy accessibility of Horsetail Falls makes it an ideal starting point fo...

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Image: Bobjgalindo | CC BY-SA 4.0