Hole-in-the-Wall Falls

Warren Creek is a tributary of the Columbia River draining a large area of the north side of Mt. Defiance. There are two primary objectives here: 1) Hole-in-the-Wall Falls (3C I) This is a fun shortie outing you can knock out in an hour or so and visits one of the most interesting features of the creek: Hole-in-the-Wall Falls. This is a man-made waterfall and is quite the novelty. In the early 1900's, the architects of the Columbia Gorge historic highway disliked how much spray was reaching the road, so diverted the entire creek to prevent damage. Today, Warren Creek reaches the top of the old falls, then is diverted through a man-made tunnel to plunge 100ft down a narrow slot. The old falls remains dry much of the year except in times of extreme flow. Running this section of Warren Creek could be combined with nearby Cabin Creek for a longer day. 2) Full Warren (3C IV) Warren Creek originates from Warren Lake, high on Mt. Defiance. This longer route is described on a separate page. The creek's watershed includes Warren Lake on Mt. Defiance: 1.84mi^2.

From the parking lot, hike west on the bike trail which parallels the freeway. You will pass beneath Cabin Creek Falls and then a paved side trail leads to Hole-in-the-Wall Falls. This is a good place to assess the flow. From here, cross the bridge, and follow the trail up a few minutes to reach a trail junction. Bear left (going right will take you to the base of Lancaster Falls) and continue up until the trail rounds the nose of the ridge. Continuing following the trail back down to reach a bridge across Warren Creek. Head downstream 5min to the falls. Please do not shortcut the route in as this will lead to erosion and creation of user trails. Also: there's poison oak.

You know you've arrived at the top of Hole-in-the-Wall Falls upon encountering the gigantic metal grating set up to keep the tunnel from getting clogged by vegetative debris and rocks. The grating is angled to dump creek debris over the brink and down the old (now dry) Warren Falls. Water pours down between the slats into the tunnel below. Environmental engineering! It's easy to climb down under the grating through an opening DCR. If flow into the tunnel is too high, consider rappelling the old Warren Creek Falls. This pitch is usually dry, and, if it's running at all, it's only a small percentage of the main flow. Rappel is about 140ft to the bottom. Fun novelty if you can catch it with water.

From the bottom of the falls, hike back to the Starvation Creek trailhead.