Originally known by settlers as Tanner Falls or Tanner Creek Falls, in 1915 Wahclella Falls was officially renamed by the Mazamas, a Portland, Oregon-based hiking and climbing club.
Wahclella Falls is reached by a popular half-mile trail up Tanner Creek. The trailhead is at Exit 40 off I-84, the Bonneville Dam exit. The parking lot is just south of the exit. This is a fee site. A day use fee of $5.00 is required, or display your Northwest Forest Pass.
Follow the trail up Tanner Creek. The first section of the trail follows an old access road to a diversion dam. Along the way, note structures placed in the streambed, primarily partially sunken logs secured by cables. These modifications are designed to emulate natural conditions in an undisturbed stream in order to optimize opportunities for spawning salmon and steelhead and to promote maximum survival and growth of eggs, fry, and smolts.
Just past the diversion dam the trail crosses a footbridge at the base of a small waterfall. This waterfall has been named Munra Falls by Gregory A. Plumb, author of "A Waterfall Lover's Guide to the Pacific Northwest."
The trail climbs steeply for a tenth of a mile, then levels for another tenth or so, then drops quickly to a footbridge in the bottom of the canyon. Walk another tenth of a mile or so and you will come to the long footbridge shown in this photo. Note the large and picturesque boulders in the creek bottom.
Ash Creek Images
Photographs of the West by Doug Gorsline
A Footbridge Crosses Tanner Creek Just Below Wahclella Falls, Columbia Gorge.
