Zach Urness

Statesman Journal

One of the most popular hiking trails in the Columbia River Gorge could become a major hazard this spring and summer.

Eagle Creek Trail, located just east of Bonneville, had a bridge knocked out by a large tree that fell during a storm last December.

The broken bridge is at Tish Creek, 2 miles from the trailhead and about a quarter-mile past Punchbowl Falls.

The creek is not safe to cross, and the bridge won’t be repaired for at least a year, said Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area recreation staff officer Stan Hinatsu.

“It’s going to be a big challenge to make sure folks aren’t crossing the creek,” Hinatsu said. “We can’t be there 100 percent of the time, and folks will go around any barriers.”

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There already have been multiple reports of people attempting to cross the bridge and creek, and those numbers should increase during spring and summer.

“The trail is closed from Tish Creek on up,” Hinatsu said. “We don’t want people trying to ford the creek — it really wouldn’t be smart.

“There is a waterfall about 15 feet downstream of where people have been crossing, and an accident could turn bad very quickly.”

Hinatsu said officers were not planning to issue citations to people crossing the creek at this point but more law enforcement might be required.

“At this point, we’re taking an educational approach,” Hinatsu said.

The trail remains open to Punchbowl Falls.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors writer, photographer and videographer in Oregon for eight years. He is the author of the book “Hiking Southern Oregon” and can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Zach Urness or @ZachsORoutdoors on Twitter.

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