Sheppards Dell Falls

Sheppards Dell Falls is the second major waterfall encountered along the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway. Parking is limited along the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway but its a very short trail to the falls. Youngs Creek cascades down a twisting alcove in a series of falls totaling about 180 feet in height, with the lower half of the visible portion of the falls (essentially everything upstream from the bridge) totaling 82 feet.


The falls begin with a horsetail which feeds into a plunge (similar to that of Ponytail Falls), stuffed back in an inaccessible part of the recess. Below here, the creek turns 90 degrees and cascades 32 feet over a few small drops before funneling down a 50 foot veil with a concave hourglass shape. As the creek passes beneath the graceful arching bridge spanning the chasm, it drops over two final falls of about 20 feet each. Though looking straight down from the bridge will allow one to see the two final drops, only the 40 foot tier and a pair of the small cascades above it are clearly visible. The bottom portion of the uppermost tier is visible as well, but trees and the shape of the alcove block the majority of it from sight.


Though the falls have never officially been named, the current name is a long used and widely recognized one. Sheppard’s Dell was named for the wife of George Sheppard a local diary farmer and the original landowner, who donated the land to the public (now part of a State Park) in 1915 as a memorial to his wife. Today, thousands of visitors along the Historic Columbia River Highway visit this beautiful spot, with its roaring waterfall cascading down steep cliffs into Youngs Creek and out to the Columbia River far below. The upper fall is around 42' tall. The lower tier is around 50' tall.The falls have long been called after the Dell. The bridge spanning the gorge dates back to 1913, when the original Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway was constructed, and is registered as a National Historic Landmark.