HOOD RIVER, Ore. — Months after the Larch Mountain Trail reopened after the Eagle Creek Fire, it is closed once again.
Rain has saturated the ground causing rock slides to occur on the popular trail. At Multnomah Falls, hikers can still walk up to the Benson Bridge, but a chain link fence with a padlock stops them before they can continue to the top.
"Keeping folks off the trail is our number one priority," Matt Ramich with the U.S. Forest Service says 3-4 rock falls since Friday have happened. "It's basically the freezing and thawing, the amount of rain and of course the Eagle Creek Fire that happened 2 years ago and really unstabilized the slopes."
With more rain on the way this weekend, this isn't over.
"After some good saturation and some good sun, you can still have some rock fall coming down," Ramich said.
At the other end of the Larch Mountain Trail, sits the Wahkeena Bridge. Barricades and signs prevent hikers from going any further.
"So last night did all the research. I was looking for what's the best hikes," Ryan Brancheau is visiting from Kentucky. "And this pops up as the number one or top 5 in everything I looked at and I get here and realize it's closed. So, it's kind of a bummer."
The Forest Service says there's no timetable for when either of these trails will reopen.
Related content
- Rockfall reported near Multnomah Falls, hikers escorted out from trails
- These Columbia River Gorge hikes reopened on 'Green Friday'
- One year later: An Eagle Creek Fire timeline
- Community looks back at the Eagle Creek Fire, one year later
- Teen ordered to pay $36.6 million in restitution for starting Eagle Creek fire
- Eagle Creek Fire now 100 percent contained