Devils Rest via Wahkeena

This is the long way up Devils Rest, climbing from Wahkeena Falls on the Historic Columbia River Highway to the forested summit of a Boring volcano 850 feet above Angels Rest. The route combines paved lower trail, a stone-bridge crossing of Wahkeena Falls with its heavy spray, eleven stone-walled switchbacks, and Wahkeena Canyon past cedar-shaded Fairy Falls. Most people turn around somewhere along the way; Devils Rest itself is a viewless mossy rockpile, but clifftop perches along the approach open east toward the Bonneville Dam and Cruzatt Rim.

From the viewing plaza above the parking lot, the trail crosses Wahkeena Creek and traverses into Douglas-fir and hemlock woods. The stone bridge at Wahkeena Falls often drenches hikers. Past a repurposed tombstone marker where the closed Perdition Trail used to branch off, eleven mossy switchbacks climb to Lemmons Viewpoint, named for a firefighter killed in the line of duty, with views across to Cape Horn, Archer Mountain, Hamilton Mountain, and Beacon Rock. The pavement ends at the basalt dome defile above the viewpoint; six more steep switchbacks lead to Fairy Falls, and five more climb through a burned slope with intact overhead canopy to the Vista Point Trail #419 junction.

A December 2025 slide buried part of the Wahkeena Canyon section — verify current trail status before the visit. Above the Vista Point Trail, the route traverses burned ground where thimbleberry dominates the understory, reaches Devils Rest, and optionally descends through unofficial user trails toward Angels Rest Trail to close a 7.1-mile loop. The loop portions are user-maintained, brushy, and require attentive route-finding. The 2017 Eagle Creek Fire touched almost the entire approach. Nettles grow thick along creek sections.