Oregon State Parks: Bridal Veil Falls State Scenic Viewpoint

The lower trail at Bridal Veil takes the visitor downhill to the base of Bridal Veil Falls and is about a mile round trip to the falls and back. Although short, this is a steep little trail full of switchbacks and is not wheelchair accessible. Along the way are a few unwanted wild plants of this area -- such as poison oak -- so keep on the path.

Do not attempt to walk along the bridge over the Historic Highway to view the falls. The road here is a narrow two-lane passage with absolutely no sidewalk. PLEASE view the falls from the trail.

Beautiful Bridal Veil Falls is an elegant and graceful lady that can be fully appreciated from the deck of a viewing platform rebuilt in 1996. The creek hustles down from the top of nearby Larch Mountain, tumbles over the cliff and eventually flows into the mighty Columbia River. No visit to the Columbia Gorge should be considered complete without a tour of the area of Bridal Veil and a visit to Bridal Veil Falls State Park.

"Bridal Veil Falls Trail begins at the east end of the parking lot. The dirt trail is steep with some switchbacking, and crosses Bridal Veil Creek just before ascending stairs to a platform with a good view of the falls."

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"Legend has it that a passenger on the stern wheeler traveling along the Columbia River, Baily Gatzert, saw what is now know as Bridal Veil Falls and remarked on how it looked like a 'delicate, misty bride’s veil.' As the years went by, people begun to refer to this location of the Columbia River Gorge as Bride’s Veil."

"For several decades a wood flume helped move forest products from the company's rough-cut mill at Palmer to a resaw mill at river level -- a descent of 1,800 feet. An estimated 1,000,000,000 board feet of rough-cut lumber traveled down this flume until 1937 when fire destroyed Bridal Veil mill."

"Formerly Bridal Veil Falls was noted for its beauty but the waters now are confined in a lumber-flume."

The HAER photo below is clearly mislabeled, this is Bridal Veil.

December 8, 2014

Actually, I've learned that the Archives may have been paraphrasing the original text, the WPA book Oregon: End of the Trail, more than quoting. The original text actually specifies that the flow was lessened, but not stopped. The word "confined," to me, lends more to the idea that the falls were obliterated. However, there are many photos of the falls during the time of the flume, and it was still running rather briskly...

"On an interesting geologic note, early in the 20th century, the tiers of the falls were dramatically different in stature. The upper tier was a good 30 feet taller and the lower tier was half its current size. The creek squeezed through a narrow notch, perhaps no more than 3 feet wide between the two drops, but debris has since filled in the gap, and resulted in the waterfall appearing as it does today."

"The falls are the only in the area which occurs below the historic Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway - the base of the falls standing probably no more than 20 vertical feet above the Columbia River. The reason for this appears to be partially that Bridal Veil Creek is more or less the largest stream draining from Larch Mountain, and as such, it has worn down the mountainside much more significantly than its neighboring streams. The ubiquitous Columbia Gorge basalts are seen on the bluffs north the falls, but this is the only fall along the Old Highway where the underlying rock structure isn't blatantly obvious."

Bryan Swan. NW Waterfall Survey

Height: 118 feet

Tallest Drop: 78 feet

Num. Drops: 2

Primary Form: Tiered Horsetails

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"Look for the remains of an old mill pond, log flume, and other structures near the falls and just east of the viewing platform."

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"Just downstream of Bridal Veil Falls was the site of a large mill operation between 1910 and 1930. Remnants of the footings of the buildings can still be seen, as well as a retention wall along the creek."

Links

CLICK HERE to continue exploring the highway