Cape Horn Trail

Love that there are different entries to loop. Every lookout/viewpoint has something a little different to offer. We’ve done the entire trail - in sections!

Amazing views. Fairly easy trails. Good fun all around hike. Many hikes in the area. Some with waterfalls.

Great hike! I recommend good solid shoes if you are going to do the entire loop. Good views. The entire loop is not recommended for people looking for an afternoon walk.. a great moderate hike in my opinion.

I hiked the loop 11-10-20. It was nasty weather out. Torrential downpour. Lots of water on the trail. A few slick muddy areas. Its a beautiful hike. There are some cool cliffs and views of the Gorge. I unfortunately didnt have much views because the clouds and rain had me socked in. Now I need to go back on a clear day. If you havent done it I highly suggest you go.

Love hiking the Gorge. Cape horn is an awesome hike close out of Washougal with spectacular views from above. My opinion it is an easy to moderate hike that can be done as a 7.5 loop or quick 2.5 mile hike to the overlooks

Great trail that was founded by real enthusiasts! Close to highway in some areas yet a taste of the Vancouver atmosphere! Views that help the rational approach within oneself. !

Running trails - you don’t need poles but footing is rocky and requires concentration. I started at the park n ride and ran clockwise, big loop is just over 7. Ends on a slight incline on a road; not the best but made up for with the beautiful views!

Love this hike. Have come many times. Great for visitors bc of the multiple viewpoints

This loop hike takes in amazing views and crosses a good variety of terrain. Its a pretty easy hike and good for families.

Great trail; we didnt go fast but the 7 miles took us about 3.5 hours. Recommend starting on the upper trail and finishing the loop on the lower.

Overall isnt a difficult trail. Hiking boots are recommended. Going with kids may be difficult. Around 3 hours is enough to make the all 7 miles trail

Enjoyed 4hrs interested trail.You can find forest, ciffes, rocks, river, fall, wild flowers, lots of BlackBerry!!

Fantastic hike into the gorge. Well deserved viewpoints as well. It was a test for our 3 year old, with thin trails and loose gravel. But we made it!! We will be returning often.

It was about a 7.5 mile loop trail. Some steep terrain, small rocks to walk over in one section, and many beautiful viewpoints along the way.

Gorgeous trail. Get there early or you wont find a parking space. Closed half the year Feb/June July for falcon nesting. Respect the closure!

Started with lower, was surprised by the length. Interesting trail which leads through different ecosystems. Lots of birds! Trail overgrown in places. Had fun, would recommend. Bring water and maybe a snack.

This place is a bit mushy during the wet season, so make sure to go when its dry or semi dry to keep your shoes clean. Overall there is a nice view (many trees), once you get to the top, its calming and you cant even hear traffic. The air is fresh too.

Beautiful double loop trail. Upper loop has some nice topography scenes, and lower loop has a small waterfall.

Great 8 mile loop hike with beautiful Columbia River Gorge views

Easy to park (though not a huge lot), well marked and maintained trail. Lower trail was closed so w wouldnt do the loop and ended up hiking a few extra miles. Being water! Youll get your heart going for sure

Outstanding gorge day hike. Overcrowded even on weekday in fall Be alert for partial trail closures due to falcon nesting Feb 1 to July 15.

Really beautiful, but the lower half near the falls is really technical. Poles and a bit of bravery might be required. I went here on a suggestion for trail run and found the lower happy very rocky and technical. The trail above 14 is fantastic and challenging.

This trail has it all. Killer views, interesting vantage points, tunnels, and a waterfall. The hike back to the trailhead on a road is a letdown, but it gives you a chance to think about all the fun you had. On the lower section you are hiking on top of a railroad tunnel. Sometimes the Gorge winds can be an issue.

Wild flowers along the hike. Pretty views along the way. Gets your heart pumping. Magnificent view at the top..

Great time to go up! Delphinium is blooming this weekend, lots of berrry blossoms, some purple lilies, early columbines, and more flowers spotted than I can name. A little slippery when raining but doable. I turned back at the first lookout.

This trail blows me away Everytime. Its a drive from Portland, but worth it. There is free parking so get there early!! The hike is challenging with views to make the effort worth it. When its not Falcon mating season, the waterfall and rock cliffs are jaw dropping. Look for the right angle to snap your own waterfall !

A little steep on the upper Trail but nice when u get to point a I definitely need to get a better pedometer so I can track mileage cuz nobody has any signage telling you how far youve been or how far different spots r but really a nice hike for the view you get over the Columbia

Great hike but beware of aggressive yellow jackets. Not a hike to go on with little kids as its 45 minutes each way.

Great veiws and nice short trail you can run or hike, its only like 3 miles or something

This is a good hike whether you want to do some hills or walk an easy path to a great gorge overlook. It just depends where you start. If you do the loop it is nicely shaded for most of the route. The exception is the bottom of the loop where you walk along a paved dead end road. Not bad but not the woods either. The loop has a number of overlooks, most just openings in the trees. A couple are developed with seats.

Took a group of young men out on a hike on the lower section of the trail... we hiked out past the falls to an overlook facing east up the gorge... on a warm day the falls are a nice place to cool off if the water isnt coming down too hard... bring water... need good hiking shoes... lots of rocky trail... we enjoyed it!

Great hike on the washington side of the gorge. The parking lot is not over crowded. There are upper and lower trail. The lower trail has waterfall view and upper trail has nice view of columbia river. The hike is intermediate level. The full loop is closed in spring due to falcon breeding season.

Great trail! A portion of the trail is closed until July for nesting falcons.

Nice loop to run. Winds were strong down along the river and made it a tough back leg on the loop.

This is an amazing place to go hiking! The views are spectacular!

Decent sized parking lot, however the parking spaces are quite narrow. Parking is not helped by those people that cant seem to park in such a way that you can maximize the space (laziness). There is an overflow parking area. There is also a 2 hole kybo in the parking area.This is quite a nice hike as far as the varied terrain and views. Terrain consists of wooded, meadow, narrow rock cliff and more. The trail itself, while okay, definitely needs some work. A lot of the trail is quite dusty, so slipping and sliding is a hazard. If you navigate the trail counterclockwise from the parking area, a fair amount of the trail appears to have some washout issues due to lacking proper trail managementI highly recommend, when doing the complete loop that you go counter-clockwise from the parking lot, this way you start off with elevation gain, flat, descending, then some elevation gain at the end.

Sensational hike; lower section following a trail on the banks of the Columbia away from the road is unique and very worthwhile - as Lewis & Clark would have seen it (almost). Allow at least 5 hours for the whole 8 mile loop including stops. Pick a bright dry day, take a camera and go counter-clockwise from the car park.

This amazing hike is so close to Portland/Vancouver on the WA side of the Columbia. The path is marked and shared with horses, with multiple view points along the way. Like many Gorge hikes, youll enjoy fabulous views of the surrounding landscape. Its over 7 miles, rated moderate in my book, I was pretty tired afterwards. Theres an unfortunate section on pavement (either the last or first mile or so, depending on which way you start), but its through a rural neighborhood with very little traffic. It wasnt too crowded but I was able to do the hike mid-week.

Wonderful place for a little hike on the way home to stretch the legs

Very cool and steep! But definitely fun! Totally worth the trip!!!!!

Excellent trail loop. Took us about 3.5 hours with a handful of vista stops, and lunch. Highly recommended - trail wasnt too difficult as some reviews might say - just on the longer side.

Great hike! Be prepared for a long uphill trek though.

Beautiful views. Took about 5.4 miles to hike to the second overlook and back. Really enjoyed it.

Nice long loop. We did about 7.5 miles.

Beautiful hike. There is a little challenge with the incline but not so difficult that its inaccessible to beginners for the viewpoint. Highly reccomended

Pretty crowded, at least to the first unofficial lookout then people become a little more sparse. Should be noted that portions of the lower trail are closed from February-July due to nesting Peregrine Falcons, so the loop turns into an out-and-back (fines are $5000). Really fun hike with some amazing views of the Columbia and the Gorge.

Uphill climb but lots of switchbacks to lessen the incline :) beautiful views!

This is a nice little trail with not alot 0f views while ascending, but great view points when you get to the top. The trails are narrow, so watch your footing and be prepared for other hikers along your route. Please always pack out what you packed in!

College Student Reviews - Difficult and narrow trail, plan on about 4 hours, with lots of ups and downs. Amazing views, rewarding. (Warning, I had music, and got several comments that my quiet music with no lyrics was still f*****g annoying when people crossed my path)

Breathtaking views no matter how many times I go. Easy hike to the top.

I finally did this entire trail for the first time last week. The lower half is very pretty... A little risky... Some cliff areas that are straight drops way down to the river and rocks below. Not for small kiddos at all. But really gorgeous views at many stops along the way. I think it took 3 hours to hike the whole thing.

Great place for a summer hike!

Such a fun trail. Great views from the top of the river. Took my pup on the hike and he loved it

Super pretty view, kind of a crowded trail though

Good trail with a beautiful view!

A much better hike than I was expecting. Only downside is a mile-ish finish (or start depending on the direction you take) on a paved road. But it still doesnt make enough of a difference to negate all the great viewpoints and terrain changes that make this a fun and different hike than other trails.

Gorgeous view! About 1000ft elevation, but its so worth it!

Great escape, great sights. A little different than what I am used too In a good way.

This is a fast, beautiful hike close to the city. In about twenty minutes you can hike up to a gorgeous viewpoint If you do the whole loop theres enough variation to keep you interested.

Great hike, well maintained trail. Lookouts along the way. Make sure to stop under the waterfall to cool off

I wanted to hike the Gorge area on the Oregon side, and I was a bit disappointed that many of the trails were (temporarily) closed. Luckily I found a new-to-me trail on the Washington side: Cape Horn. Its reasonably close to Vancouver and PDX, but the parking area at the trail head is small... Get there early for a spot!I arrived about 9:30am and there were plenty of spaces. The trail is well marked the entire way, but I had to settle for an out and back instead of the entire loop due to peregrine nesting trail closures. I completed the hike in a little over three hours. Theres a nice bit of elevation gain at the start of the trail, and around mid-April, there are lots of flowers, especially trillium, yellow violets, and bleeding hearts. A very peaceful hike, the midpoint punctuated by a pretty little waterfall.Come back after July 15 if you want to hike the complete loop.

This trail is da bomb! Disclaimer: I have yet to do the entire loop (kids are too young still). We hiked up from the main trail head off Hwy 14 to the viewpoint overlooking the Columbia and back down. Took us 2 hours. The view is absolutely worth the steep switchback ascent. If you do have little ones, take care at that viewpoint as it is quite exposed with sheer cliffs on all sides. The entire ascent to view is in fairly dense woods which makes it a great hike in summer to beat the heat or when looking for something to shield some rain. Please dont short cut the switchbacks. Short-cutting destroys the vegetation and accelerates erosion. Other than some steep sections on the ascent, theres only a few technical sections to manage. Again, I can only comment on the section from main trail head to first view point.

We traveled over the whole trail and there were some horses routes and yes we did take them. The waterfall kept us as wet as we wanted to be so we eventually moved on.

One of my favorites! A great versatile hike.

Moderate difficulty hike with options for longer and shorter distances. If you get to the overlook, youre rewarded with one of the best views around!

7 mike hike with a unique waterfall

Great exercise and a great view!

Grew up right by here..its an amazing trail but be safe it has very dangerous areas!

Less crowded, and more intimate. A place to unwind and connect with nature,

Fantastic trail!

One of the great Columbia gorge trails on the Washington side. Total loop is 7.5 MI but its up and back in the spring and early summer because part of the trail is closed to protect peregrine falcon nesting sites. At the top, panoramic views of both the gorge and the Washington inland area.it is a nice climb to the top, but not as long or strenuous as Dog Mountain and some others. Good parking area with toilet facilities at the Eastern end access point. (The loop crosses SR 14 twice. When open, the trail includes a section along or near the banks of the Columbia, as well as the climb to the vista on the top.)

Gorgeous variety of trails- easy access to highway and trails.

Came to hike around Christmas time. Though it had been raining for a few days, the hike was not quite as muddy as expected. We were able to make it up to the viewpoint and back in running shoes. We also brought two dogs who loved the trail!Around this time there were still a few other hikers on the trail. We probably saw around 5 total parties during our short hike. Elevation gain was decent, but doable for both my parents who are over 55.At the viewpoint it was quite cloudy and foggy but we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the view for a few minutes when it all cleared up.

Good and nice point view. A little difficult beacuse of narrow hiking trail . To view point is 1.5 mile and to the end with stone chair with another point view is around 3.5 miles . its muddy now .

Love this trail, busy on the weekends but where isnt. Hit it at sunrise during the week and you may not see a soul.

One of my favorite hikes in the gorge!! Just the most beautiful scenery and the terrain varies which I like

Great hike when you can go all the way around!!

I recommend an early start, especially on the weekends. The trail can be challenging at times due to incline and descent, but the viewpoints are breathtaking. Watch out for dog poop! People are picking it up when others are around but... when no one is looking they leave the poop filled bag on the trail.

This is a moderate hike and family/dog friendly. The views are breathtaking and totally worth the hike! My kids and I enjoyed it very much!

Awesome hike as always, this time in snowshoes!

We got here early to get a parking spot. Really great views of the river

Awesome hike. Bit rocky towards the end. We did the whole loop and it was about 8 miles.

We only went to the upper viewpoint and back down because it was pouring rain today, but it was a great, well maintained, jaunt to the top! Definitely tied a bunch of other peoples carefully-bagged-up poop bags to my dogs harness on the way back down because other people couldnt be bothered to pack it out (when theyd already bagged it!) I will never understand how this is a thing folks let themselves do. Other than that it was a great hike.

Great hike close to the city. Parking is easy. Nice views 9f the Columbia River Gorge

Nice little hike with unbelievable views!

Challenging, but rewarding hike. Parked at the trailhead and hiked the upper trail to the first overlook. 1.4 miles and 800 feet of elevation gain made this a vigorous activity. Plenty of wild flowers and views. Trail was busy (on Mothers day.). We had no issues on the way up, lots of hikers were coming up the trail on our way down. We had a lot of waiting time as the trail has some narrow spots.

I got vertigo at the top

Very impressive! Its some authentic Pacific Northwest nature

Cigar Rock from the trail. Awesome.

Pretty nice trail. If you take the upper trial first, your last mile of trail is a paved road.

Got a bit cloudy and wet so no view at the top but still a great hike!

Short but relatively steep hike up to an amazing view of the Columbia River Gorge.

Me and a new friend happened to come upon this trail head. We ended up doing the upper trail. And was not disappoint one bit.

Breathtakingly stunning! A great scenic drive and worth the moments!

Beautiful every time I see it...Im in awe of its majestic beauty

Amazing views, lots of terrain variety

Trail is in great shape an beautiful fall colors now. Lower trail is clear and dry, leaves not a problem. Upper trail just damp enough. Not muddy and not dusty. Heavy leaves in some spots, but not enough to make it slippery. Perfect day. Brisk and sunny.

Amazing hike! Very recharging for mind and peace! And stress relief!

Great views from the upper trail. Expect wind!

Well marked moderate trail