Bell Creek Loop

Bell Creek Loop from Oneonta Trailhead

The Oneonta trailhead is on the Columbia River Highway a little bit east of Multnomah Falls Lodge. There is parking area on the north side of the road and a sign on the south side marking the trailhead. There are distances printed on the sign, but I'm not sure they are to be trusted.

The Oneonta Trail (Columbia Gorge Trail #424) starts out with a nice leisurely stroll uphill. This first section of the trail up to waypoint Junction 400b is part of the Horsetail Falls Loop and tends to be very busy with hikers of all types taking advantage of the easy route. After this junction, keep climbing gradually hearing the creek far below you out of sight until you come to Triple Falls at around the 2 mile mark. Take the detour down to the left for better views of the falls. (I took my photo from up above and had a tree in the way) The detour doesn't cost you distance or elevation. Pass the falls and you come to the first of four foot bridges on this hike (You'll cross six bridges, but do two of them twice). After the falls, you probably won't see too many other hikers.

Crossing over to the east side of the creek, you'll climb a bit more rapidly, but not much, and have the advantage of the creek within view most of the time to motivate you to keep going. There is a lot of maple growth in this section and some parts of the trail are rocky. I did this hike in late October so I had lots of wet maple leaves coating and hiding a wet rocky base. I was thankful for my trekking poles. At around the 3 mile mark, you will come to the second foot bridge. Cross it back to the west side of the creek, and continue for a very short while.

You will quickly come to a junction. The Oneonta Trail (#424) turns to the west and starts to climb. The Horsetail Creek Trail (#425) heads down and to the east. These are the two arms of the loop, and we'll come back to this point on our way out. I don't think it makes a difference one direction or the other, but there is a ford over Oneonta Creek immediately after this split on #425. If you are worried about water levels and fording, either go that way first or just take a quick (a few hundred feet) jaunt down and check it out before heading up #424.

I took the Horsetail Creek Trail to the west, fording Oneonta Creek and slipping my right foot into the creek to the ankle at one point. Thankfully waterproof, full-ankle boots and soft shell pants with built in gaiters were just enough to save my sock from getting wet. Continue on up the side of the hill. There are some spots here where the trail is loose dirt and falling apart, but they are small and it is not yet too hard to navigate. This is the meat of the climb of this hike and after about 3/4 mile, you'll find yourself switching back and forth making the climb quite tolerable. The forest here was logged in the past but is in full swing again, and the Hemlock and Fir spires spiking up the steep slope are very cool. At around the 4 mile mark, you'll come to a viewpoint. It isn't much as far as viewpoints go, but it is a nice change of pace. You're about halfway up the switchbacks at this point. Keep the motor churning and it will level off for a long while soon enough.

Soon, you stop switching back while still climbing for a while. At the 5 mile mark, you come to the junction with the Bell Creek Trail (#459). This is functionally the top of the hike. There will be a little more gain, but nothing really perceptible. The trail here varies between narrow dirt and narrow rock bed. There are a lot of downed trees. Some are easy enough to step over, some are big enough, and have been there long enough, that micro-detour trails are evident and easy to follow. This is a very boggy area and the trees here are mostly cedar.

At the 6 mile mark, you'll come to a very small and rocky clearing. After this, the giants grow. You drop down sharply for a short bit and enter an amazing old growth stand of cedar and fir and hemlock. It is really wet in here, and there are a lot of small stretches that appear to have been clear cut (or possibly had serious blow downs) because the new growth maple and other scrub are flourishing and starting to suffocate the trail. Several sections feature a combination of soggy rivulets, rocky trail, and encroaching brush offering a bit of a challenge.

Shortly before the 7 mile mark, you will cross Bell Creek on the third footbridge on this hike. There is an 8 foot rail section missing in the middle, which is not a big deal, the log bridge is wide and solid, but in case that sort of thing worries you, you are forewarned. Shortly after this foot bridge I came across a very large (5 feet diameter) downed tree blocking the trail. From the surrounding trail, it appears this fell very recently. I could not go around it, and there was not even close to enough room to scoot under it, so I found myself tracking up the hill a bit to find a high piece of dirt. Then I just hopped up, gave the tree a hug and rolled down onto the other side. It offered a nice surprise obstacle, but I think this will be cleared when the forest service finds it.

Keep going along mostly flat trails for another mile plus. The trail here is soggy in many places and features a lot of tiny rivulets snaking all over the place. Many are bridged by small cedar planks, but many more are just there to be stepped over, in, or around. After the 8 mile mark, you'll cross another footbridge and then quickly come back to the Oneonta Trail (#424). You could go west here to head up to the top of Larch Mt. Keep heading north, though, to get back to your car sooner.

You are now hiking on Franklin Ridge. Keep going and soon you'll come to another trail junction, Multnomah Spur Trail (#446). Take this to head to the Larch Mt trail and access to Multnomah Falls. There is some great old growth fir along that route as well if you are interested. Keep going on #424 until you reach yet another junction, this one Franklin Ridge Trail (#427). This branch would complete the ridge walk and takes you directly to Multnomah Creek Trail (#441).

For this hike, however, take the right fork and continue up briefly along #424. After cresting this small hill, you start the meat of the descent. There is a large blow down area here that is interesting to see. Your descent features a few sharp switchbacks, but primarily you just head down in a few long lazy switches. When you hear Oneonta Creek start to roar, you know you're getting in the vicinity of the junction with Horsetail Falls Creek Trail (#425) where you made the initial divergence. From here turn left and head north back the way you came for 3 miles.

I rated this route as difficult, but I was hesitant to do so. The distance, 15.5 miles, leans toward the difficult rating, but the elevation gain is moderate and the climbs are gradual with no real "put your head down and grind" sections. The condition of several parts of the trail was the deciding factor for me in rating this difficult.

Weather: mostly cloudy. Starting temp: 40F. Ending temp: 52F.
Total time of hike: 5h52min
Track recorded using iPhone 4 and GPS MotionX software.