Panther Creek Falls

While Damon was away for a job interview one weekend, I took the kids to see Panther Creek Falls.  This Saturday evening adventure can be chalked up to my desire to take in as much of the Gorge scenery as possible before our move. I had never even heard of Panther Creek Falls until about a week before we went there, but I knew that there were so many cool things to see and do in the Gorge that we had never before done, that I was keeping my ears and eyes open for new possibilities. Some friends of ours went camping near here and told me about it, so the children and I packed up a picnic and set off to find this spot a few miles north of Carson, WA.

The trail was a bit tricky to find from the parking lot--we overshot it--but once we found it, the falls were just a short way down a path carpeted with pine needles.

 

Pretty cool, huh?

 

The platform overlooking the falls was pretty high up, such that we were practically level with the top of the falls, and it was a loooong way down to the pool:

 

We ate our picnic on the platform, listening to the water roaring. We were lucky enough to have the whole place to ourselves. The only other visitors had returned to the parking lot just as we were arriving.

 

My only regret is that we didn't discover Panther Falls sooner so that we could have shown the place to Damon and have visited more than once. I bet it's beautiful now as all of the leaves are changing colors.

The Scenic Route

By July 21, we knew we were moving, we just didn't know where. Damon had had two job interviews, at companies in California and Massachusetts, and we were awaiting the formal offer from the second interview.  Knowing our time in the Gorge was growing short, there were some things I wanted to see and do before we left. So, on this sunny Saturday, we set off down the Columbia River (well--not literally; I suppose that made it sound like we were in a boat; we were traveling on I-84 next to the river) to see some amazing views and beautiful waterfalls.  As we drove, Damon and I made pro and con lists and ratings about the different moving options before us, but eventually we had to set that aside to look out the windows at the amazing beauty around us.

Our first stop was at Vista House. For years we drove through the Gorge past this 1917 structure sitting high above us atop Crown Point without ever stopping.  We were usually zipping by on the freeway, while this spot is on the Historic Columbia River Highway. We finally stopped sometime earlier this year, but it was closed for the season.  In July, though, it was open.

 

Really, though, you don't stop here for the building (unless you need the bathroom, of course). You stop here for the view:

 

In the photo above, Vista House is in front of us. The photo below is taken from the parking lot. If you click through to the Vista House link above you can see a photo of Vista House from a distance that really gives you a better idea of how high up it is.

 

Another parking lot shot (White Salmon is back behind Adah about 40 miles):

 

From Vista House, we continued down the Historic Columbia River Highway as it meandered through shadowy fern-draped forests full of big and small waterfalls.  Our next stop was at Shepperd's Dell (I promise that's spelled correctly). This is a small canyon with two waterfalls cascading down to Young's Creek and then into the Columbia River.  You can't really see much of the waterfall from the highway, but it was a very short jaunt down from the road.

 

We had just driven over this bridge, a 1914 engineering marvel during the highway's construction:

 

Our next, and final, stop was at Bridal Veil falls. Now, there are about half a dozen states with a Bridal Veil falls, so don't be surprised by the name. This one is unique because there's actually a tiny post office nearby that's famous for having wedding invitations shipped directly there so that couples can have the occasion-appropriate postmark on their envelopes.  We skipped the post office and made our way down to the falls.

More precisely...we made our way down to the pools at the bottom of the falls, where most of the family was content to stay and play.  

 

  

I eventually made my way past the pools and up the trail to a viewing platform where I could get a proper view of the cascading falls--and of my happy family below. 

 

Damon also took a turn looking at the falls, but I'm not sure that any of the children did. They were having too much fun climbing on and skipping rocks, trying to catch fish, and floating leaves and sticks. That's why it was our last stop. I had hoped to visit a few more waterfalls, but on such a lovely day, many of the parking lots were full, and we spent so much time at this spot, that by the time we pulled the children away we were quite content with our outing and happy to have seen more of the Gorge before having to leave it.