Metlako Falls is an 82-foot plunging waterfall on Eagle Creek in the Columbia River Gorge, Hood River County, Oregon. Eagle Creek drops from a narrow slot into a round punchbowl pool in a box canyon, and it is the first of the major falls a hiker meets on the Eagle Creek Trail.
The falls
The creek makes a single vertical plunge into the pool below. The World Waterfall Database measured it in person at 82 feet and checked the figure against lidar data; published estimates have ranged from 100 to 150 feet, and Wikipedia still lists 101 feet. Fed by springs, Eagle Creek runs all year, with high flows averaging around 400 cubic feet per second. Metlako marks the upstream limit of salmon spawning on the creek.
Getting there
The Eagle Creek Trailhead is reached from I-84 at exit 41, eastbound only; westbound drivers continue to exit 40 and turn around. The fee is $5 per vehicle per day or a valid recreation pass. The lot holds about 50 cars and fills before 8 a.m. on summer weekends. The trail, mostly natural ground cut into basalt cliffs, reaches the Metlako area about 1.6 miles from the trailhead. The trail reopened on May 1, 2026, after storm damage in December 2025.
When to go
Flow is good year-round. Summer weekends bring the biggest crowds.
On site
In December 2016 a large section of the canyon wall collapsed into the gorge, taking the official Metlako viewpoint with it. The spur to it is closed, and the ground around the slide remains unstable. The falls can still be seen partly through the trees from the main trail, and no replacement viewpoint had been built as of spring 2022. The trail runs along unguarded sheer cliffs; it may be unsuitable for children or pets, dogs must be on a leash, and dogs have fallen from the cliffs.
History and name
A committee of the Mazamas climbing club named the falls in 1915 for Metlako, described as a Native American goddess of salmon, probably because salmon go no farther upstream. The 2017 Eagle Creek Fire later burned the forest around the canyon.
Nearby
Sorenson Falls on Sorenson Creek is plotted right beside Metlako. Farther up Eagle Creek, Lower Punch Bowl Falls is about 0.2 mile away and Punch Bowl Falls about 0.3 mile. Tish Creek Falls is about 0.4 mile away. The town of Cascade Locks is about 3.1 miles north.
Distances are straight-line.