Hole in the Wall Falls – Columbia River Gorge

Hole in the Wall Falls is fed by Warren Creek from the bluffs of the Columbia River Gorge. Up until 1938 there was a Warren Falls. The lower end of Warren Creek repeatedly washed out the Columbia River Highway though. So in that year engineers blasted a hole through the nearby cliff. A wooden flume was constructed that routed the water over the highway, over the railroad and disgorged it into the Columbia River

The rerouted falls became known as Hole in the Wall Falls and Warren Falls disappeared. Evidence in the way of moss on the old falls suggests that during high water Warren Falls is reborn. There is a movement to restore the old falls and remove the metal weir that keeps the upper end of the tunnel clear of debris. This would remove Hole in the Wall Falls, but restore Warren Falls.

Remains of a maintenance road? This may even be part of the old Columbia River Highway, I’m not sure.

You can see the old river bed in this section.

Not a very good picture, but you can see the river bed and where it would have been washing out the road.

This is the bridge that marks the falls. They are up to the right in this picture.

Here you can see the entire falls and just barely at the top, the tunnel.

Here you can see the remains of the tunnel still in the cliff wall. And another view of the falls, this time in early March with Spring Flooding.

Accessing Hole in the Wall Falls –
Take the Starvation Creek Exit from I-84 East. If you’re headed west, take the Exit 51 – Wyeth, and turn around. The Trail to the falls is the Mt. Defiance one, it runs parallel to the highway for a ways. You will pass by another falls at Cabin Creek, then the old Warren Creek bed. When you come to a wooden log foot bridge look up to your left. The falls will be easily visible, although the hole may be a bit harder to see depending on how thick the foliage is.