Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, OR · WA
A faint wilderness link between two longer routes.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Columbia River Gorge Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this area
The Slug’s Scraping Teeth“If you spot a banana slug on a damp forest walk, you’re looking at a recycler with a remarkable mouth. It scrapes fallen plant matter and mushrooms with a ribbon of microscopic teeth called a radula.”
Plays on the road 1.1 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Columbia River Gorge Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Deadwood Trail #422 is an approximately 0.46-mile, one-way connector from Gorton Creek Trail #408 to Nick Eaton Trail #447 in the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness. It is for hikers already crossing this remote network, not a quick trailhead walk. From Herman Creek Trailhead, reaching the Gorton Creek junction takes about 4.7 trail miles one way via Herman Creek #406 and Gorton Creek #408; the connector is still ahead.
The mapped ground path rises roughly 500 feet toward Nick Eaton Trail. The Forest Service describes it as unmaintained, brushy and difficult to follow after the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire, so expect weak tread and route-finding rather than an obvious, maintained path. Allow about 1–1½ hours for #422 itself, plus the much longer approach. The mapped line follows the connector only; it is not the 12.5-mile Nick Eaton Ridge Loop.
Use Herman Creek Trailhead to approach from Gorton Creek; there is parking and a restroom, and a valid recreation pass is required. In winter, the gate may be closed, leaving roadside parking and a 0.4-mile walk on the paved road to the trailhead. Dogs must be leashed. Carry water: nearby Deadwood Camp is overgrown and its spring is intermittent, so it is not dependable.
Wildlife
267 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
51 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
136 sightingsAmerican PikaMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
16 sightingsWapitiMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
195 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
74 sightingsChinook SalmonMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Columbia River Gorge. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingWyeth Trail #4117.3 mi · 8 hr · 1.3 mi awayA steep 7.3-mile climb from old forest into Eagle Creek fire scar.
ChallengingGreen Point Ridge Loop15 mi · 11 hr · 1.3 mi awayA steep ridge loop with North Lake and wide Gorge views.
ChallengingNorth Lake via Wyeth Trail12.5 mi · 9 hr · 1.3 mi awayA steep climb through fire-opened slopes ends at a headwater lake.
EasyHistoric Columbia River Highway State Trail: Wyeth to Viento5.8 mi · 2.8 hr · 1.3 mi awaySix paved miles past viaducts and waterfalls along the Gorge.
ChallengingNick Eaton Trail4.1 mi · 4 hr · 1.8 mi awayA steep, fire-scarred climb to a rocky ridge high above the Gorge.
ChallengingGorton Creek Trail #4089.1 mi · 12 hr · 1.9 mi awayA steep one-way wilderness route with brushy tread beyond Deadwood.
ChallengingNick Eaton Ridge Loop12.5 mi · 9.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayA full-day climb earns a ridge meadow view.
ModerateHerman Creek to Casey Creek8 mi · 5 hr · 2.6 mi awayA steady climb past waterfalls to a shaded Casey Creek crossing.
Campground · 1.4 mi awayWyeth CampgroundPaved bike trail rides start right beside this wooded campground.
Sight · 3.9 mi awayDry Creek FallsA basalt cleft waterfall beside old concrete diversion works.
Sight · 4.1 mi awayLancaster FallsThe trail-side view catches only the lowest cascade.
Sight · 4.3 mi awayHole-in-the-Wall FallsA paved path reaches a waterfall created to save the highway.
Sight · 4.6 mi awayCabin Creek FallsA two-tier fall threads through a mossy basalt cleft.
Sight · 5 mi awaySternwheeler Columbia GorgeSee the river from a replica sternwheeler’s open deck.
Sight · 5 mi awayStarvation Creek FallsA short walk to a waterfall with a story of snowbound trains.
Sight · 5.1 mi awayCascade Locks Marine ParkAn island bridge walk that opens onto Gorge and river views.Parkwolf’s Columbia River Gorge ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
