The Larch Mountain Trail runs 6.8 miles from Multnomah Falls to Larch Mountain Trailhead, where a .25 mile path continues up to Sherrard Point (4,056') with views out to Mount St Helens, Mount Adams, Mount Rainier, Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood.

Mount Adams' (seen here from Sherrard Point) combined glacier area decreased by 49% from 1904 to 2006 (Danielle J. Sitts, Andrew G. Fountain and Matthew J. Hoffman, Department of Geology, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon)

Multnomah Creek originates from underground springs on Larch Mountain, and is supplemented by downstream tributaries, rainwater and snow melt

Benson Bridge was built in 1914 after the original bridge - built in the 1880s out of log poles - collapsed

About 100,000 years ago the north flank and summit of Mount Hood collapsed, triggering a massive lahar that swept down the Hood River valley, crossed the Columbia and pushed up the White Salmon River valley on the Washington side

Archetypal old growth forest lines Multnomah Creek, which features a multi-layered canopy comprised of many large living trees, younger trees and standing dead trees

The Larch Mountain Trail passes over the top of Ecola Falls just before reaching the Wahkeena Trail split

Mount Hood (11,239') is over 500,000 years old and has seen two recent eruptive periods, about 1500 and 200 years ago

Weisendanger Falls is the second major fall above Multnomah; it drops 50' into a high-walled gorge that requires only a short off-trail scramble to reach

Visitors are asked to cross one at a time on the first bridge over Multnomah Creek due to recent damage

Views from Sherrard Point are among the best in the gorge, with rangy panoramas out to Adams, Rainer, St Helens, Jefferson and Hood

Dutchman Falls drops in 4 tiered plunges between Multnomah Falls and Wiesendanger Falls; interestingly the falls have never been officially named, but 'Dutchman' is almost universally used

The High Water Trail provides an alternative route across a short section right along the creek that's susceptible to flooding

The one-mile section between the Wahkeena Trail split and Multnomah Basin Road is a worthwhile destination in itself, distinguished by impressive old growth, swift confluences and several side waterfalls

The Columbia River Basalt Group is the principal rock unit in the gorge, comprising a series of basalt flows that erupted 17-6M years ago

Forest composition changes as you pass through 3000' with higher concentrations of silver fir and mountain hemlock