Eightmile Creek Falls is a seasonal cascade waterfall in Klickitat County, Washington, where Eightmile Creek pours over rimrock into a narrow slot canyon just above the Columbia River. It sits in Columbia Hills Historical State Park, north of State Route 14 and east of Horsethief Lake, a short walk from the Crawford Oaks Trailhead.
The falls
The creek slides down a steep basalt rim into the slot, then bends sharply around a canyon wall before emptying into the Columbia. No surveyed height has been published. The falls sit at roughly 450 feet above sea level, in the shrub-steppe of the Columbia River Gorge.
Getting there
The Crawford Oaks Trailhead is at 8731 Lewis & Clark Highway. A walking route covers about 0.7 mile round trip with about 160 feet of gain along the entry road, rated moderate. Washington State Parks requires a Discover Pass, $10 a day or $45 a year, and the park is open 6:30 a.m. to dusk.
When to go
Visits are best timed during spring snowmelt or the days after rain; by summer the creek shrinks to a trickle and the canyon can run dry. Wildflower meadows bloom in April and May, and weekdays generally see fewer visitors.
On site
Dogs are allowed on leash. Visitors should be aware that rattlesnakes live here and that conditions are often extremely windy.
Nearby
Cushing Falls is about 3.6 miles away across the river in Oregon, The Dalles about 5.2 miles and Lyle Falls on the Klickitat River about 9.5 miles. Within the same park, Horsethief Butte, Native American petroglyphs and pictographs, and a historic ranch complex offer additional destinations.
Distances are straight-line.