Fall is approaching, and I thought I’d start the season off with some posts to get into the Fall spirit. The Pacific Northwest is a prime place to see beautiful Fall colors. Along the Columbia River Highway in Oregon is Latourell Falls. This waterfall is a quick pit stop that is definitely worth it. Easy parking and a short walk to the base of the waterfall makes this pretty accessible. There’s an optional 2.4mi hike to the top and beyond that’s not too bad as well, but the best view, in my opinion, can be seen from the bottom.
Latourell Falls
Latourell Falls can get a little crowded, but on a weekday afternoon there weren’t that many people. There was, however, quite a bit of wind. So much that the waterfall itself morphed. It was pretty cool to see! The fast runoff allowed me to use a relatively fast shutter speed to capture some silkiness in the waterfall. I wanted to capture some of the turbulence and waited for a gust of wind to blow by for the first shot.
As the wind died a bit, I captured a more stereotypical waterfall shot, as seen in the next image on the left. However, I don’t think that shot gives the massive plunge justice. So I had Minhan scramble some rocks to stand closer to the waterfall. I zoomed in to 21mm and took the shot below on the right. This is my favorite shot of the set because you can’t see the top of the waterfall, allowing for imagination of just how high up the waterfall goes. That, coupled with Minhan being there for scale, makes the scene humbling for me. I had to take the shot quick because she was getting drenched from the mist!
Shot at f/11, 12mm, ISO 200, 1/8sec, -1.0EV 
Shot at f/11, 21mm, ISO 200, 1/6sec, -1.0EV
On the actual hike itself, there is a nice spot to get a peekaboo view of Latourell Falls. From this angle, I’m reminded of Bridalveil Fall in Yosemite. It’s only about a 10min hike to get to this vantage point. If you’re only interested in the waterfall itself, I don’t recommend going past this point, as the Latourell Falls quickly disappears from view.
A Bit of History of Latourell Falls
I couldn’t find too much history about Latourell Falls itself. Just that the 220ft+ waterfall is the closest waterfall in the western Columbia River Gorge to Portland, Oregon. It is named after Joseph Latourell, a 19th-century settler who became the postmaster of the Rooster Rock Post Office in 1887. The Latourell family had a house nearby, and it’s still there (albeit abandoned)! The prominent business man Guy W. Talbot donated the land around Latourell Falls in 1929 to the State of Oregon.
As always, comments, questions, and feedback are welcome below!