If you follow the blog, you know that I am new to the Pacific Northwest. Having been born and raised in sunny Southern California, and having spent the last 4 years in sunny Denver, Colorado, my transition to this region of the country has been rough! Having moved here at the beginning of winter, I struggled to understand just how people here survive the cloudy gloominess day in and day out…it’s pretty brutal!

But this past Sunday, I finally figured it out. All winter long I’ve heard “just wait until spring, just wait until summer…” Well the wait is over and it was well worth it! My husband and I hiked up Multnomah Falls on a gorgeous 74º degree day, and experienced what gorgeous Oregon has to offer. Arriving at the falls, the first thing I felt was very, very small.

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Looking up at a staggering 627 foot waterfall will do that I suppose! And naturally, the second thing that came to mind is “we’re going to hike all the way up there?!!”

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Thanks to the complete intimidation of this towering waterfall, I started to chicken out and told my husband we should just go to the first bridge (the grey one above with all the people standing on it). He was disappointed, but “happy wife, happy life” right? So we trekked our way to the bridge, which was a whopping .2 miles. So exhausting, right? It took all of 30 seconds to get there, and looked much further from the bottom than it really was. But it was breathtakingly beautiful…

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I became determined to see more, so we forged ahead! I just HAD to see the top! The hike is labeled as “moderate”, and it was definitely a pretty decent ascend. The trail is paved the entire way to the top, so you aren’t trekking through dirt or anything like that. The views along the way…

along the way

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Right around the above photo was about halfway up. There was a bench area with this view of the Columbia River where we stopped to drink water and have  a little halfway point snack. I brought an apple and my husband had a protein bar. I highly recommend bringing a little something to eat along just in case, and definitely water bottles. At long last, we reached the top! Overall, the hike was about a mile and a half long, and around 45 minutes or so to the top. There is an overlook built into the side of the Falls where you literally stand over the waterfall, looking down at your accomplishment! Pretty cool!

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The journey back down is obviously easier than going up, but some of the steep areas definitely made for some funny moments where your legs just get going and you can’t stop! Once we hit the bottom, we celebrated with a lovely brunch at the Multnomah Falls Lodge which is right at the base of the falls. It was a buffet-brunch full of delicious breakfast and lunch foods, and included champagne or mimosas. We sat on the patio, toasted with our mimosas, and took in the gorgeous view while in awe that we had just been at the top of this beautiful site

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Our Columbia River Cruises pass right through here, and I highly recommend jumping on board to take it all in yourself. The photos hardly do justice to the natural beauty of this place! Click here to check out the cruises, and call (800)578-1479 for additional information or reservations!

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