The West Fork of the Hood River

From Lake Fork to Punchbowl Falls

The West Fork of the Hood River is the best intermediate run in the Gorge. The river is continuous Class III and IV with awesome scenery and great accessibility.

You'll drive up to Punchbowl Falls on the West Fork just past Dee. This is different from the more famous Punchbowl Falls on Eagle Creek. Leave a car near Punchbowl Falls and head to put-in. You start where the Lake Fork meets the West Fork and quickly enter a beautiful basalt gorge with some fun rapids. The run consists of 3 fun Class III-IV gorges with boulder gardens and wooded scenery in between.

There is a fish ladder about 2 miles down that you'll definitely want to portage on the left. You'll also want to pay close attention to the take out so that you don't accidentally run Punchbowl Falls. This is a steep drop into a meaty hole. The take out is up a steep trail just before the falls on the right side just below the bridge.

The West Fork would make a great advanced run for rafts except for the challenging take-out. This is one of those runs that is continuous with blind turns and the possibility of wood so please be careful.