Bridal Veil Falls

Oh the gorge... the gorgeous, gorgeous gorge!  I'm running out of old posts to re-write, which means it must be time to get out there and do some more hiking.  I don't know how many of you have poked around on this site and checked out the "Outdoor Adventure & Travel" tab.   There you will find a link to "Operation: Hike the Gorge".  Sometimes I assume people spend as much time on here as I do. :)

The basic goal is to hike every trail in the gorge from Portland to Hood River.  Last year, I got most of the easy ones down, which is what I've been writing about on Wednesdays while I wait for spring to get here.  And today, I'm going to introduce you to one of my favorite falls.

Bridal Veil Falls.  Nestled in the middle of the Columbia River Gorge Highway, this 100-foot double drop waterfall is the perfect place for a walk in the woods.  The trail is split into two parts.  There's an overlook trail where you can walk through open meadows and wildflowers to get some pretty neat views of the Columbia River.

Courtesy: About.com

Or, you can take the one-mile trail down several switchbacks and up some wooden stairs for a view of the falls itself.

The falls gets its name from the fact that it looks like a bride's veil.  We spent several hours letting Khloe run up and down the stairs and play in the creek just below the falls.  Nearly everything in the gorge is shaded so on a hot summer day, it's the perfect place to go to cool off.

Side note:  Bridal Veil is also home to one of the country's smallest Post Offices, which has a special stamp the put on each letter showing two hearts.  Brides from around the world send their wedding invitations to Bridal Veil to get the special stamp on them.  Below is a news story we did about the Post Office last year...

KPTV - FOX 12

Read more about this story, here.