Wah Gwin Gwin Falls is a 207-foot horsetail waterfall on Phelps Creek in Hood River County, Oregon, pouring from the landscaped gardens of the historic Columbia Gorge Hotel toward the Columbia River, about 1.6 miles from Hood River.
The falls
Phelps Creek leaves the hotel grounds in a single steep horsetail about 10 feet wide, with further cascades below the main fall before the creek reaches the Columbia. In-person surveys measure 207 feet while indicating that the visible drop appears closer to 120 feet, with hotel history archives documenting 208 feet. Average high flow reaches about 35 cubic feet per second, dropping close to nothing in the dry season.
Getting there
The falls are on private land owned by the Columbia Gorge Hotel at 4000 Westcliff Drive, just north of Interstate 84 at exit 62, west of downtown Hood River. Garden paths on the east side of the hotel lead to overlooks at the top of the falls. Hotel information from 2017 indicated that the grounds allowed public access to view the falls, and the hotel invites its guests to explore the garden and waterfall; current day-visitor rules, hours and parking are not published.
When to go
Winter and spring offer the best viewing, when Phelps Creek carries the most water.
On site
The viewpoints are at the top, in the garden, where a stone terrace built in the same ashlar masonry as the hotel entrance runs beside the falls behind the building. The falls are also visible from across the Columbia River in Washington. A route to the base is not documented.
History and name
Phelps Creek takes its name from Phelps Mill, which made barrel staves on the site in the mid-1800s. In 1904 Hood River pioneer Robert Rand built the Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel here as a summer resort; Simon Benson replaced it with the Columbia Gorge Hotel, which opened on June 21, 1921, keeping Rand's grounds and trails. Wah Gwin Gwin translates from Chinook as "rushing waters," alongside an older name, Lullaby Falls, named from the sound of the water lulling hotel guests to sleep.
Nearby
Across the Columbia in Washington, Spirit Falls is about 4 miles away and Wishbone Falls is about 4.5 miles away, both on the Little White Salmon River. On the Oregon side, Viento Creek Falls is about 5.6 miles away.
Distances are straight-line.