The Oneonta Gorge is in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. The U.S. Forest Service has designated it as a botanical area because of the unique aquatic and woodland plants that grow there. The basalt walls are home to a wide variety of ferns, mosses, hepatics and lichens, many of which grow only in the Columbia River Gorge.Oneonta Creek runs through the gorge. There are three waterfalls on the creek. Lower Oneonta Falls, Middle Oneonta Falls and the real Oneonta Falls. A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.
The lower gorge has been preserved as a natural habitat, so there is no boardwalk or footpath through it as such. Thus, Lower Oneonta Falls can only be seen by walking upstream from the creek's outlet at the Historic Columbia River Highway. To get to a vantage point where the entire lower falls is visible can require wading through water that in some places can be chest-deep, depending on the season and the relative amount of snow-melt. About 1 mile round trip up the creek.
Middle Oneonta Falls is easily accessible. Although it is not a very big waterfall. To get to this waterfall, start hiking along the Oneonta Trail (#424). About 0.8 miles along you reach a junction with Horsetail Falls Trail (#438). Turn left at this junction, and hike a short distance down this trail to the bridge viewpoint. About 1.8 miles round trip.
To reach the real Oneonta Falls (or upper), continue hiking on the Oneonta Trail towards Triple Falls. After about .25 mile, look for a faint path heading down to the creek. This path drops quite steeply and
the slopes may be crumbly, so proceed with care.
(another good place to go along the creek is Triple Falls)
Note: Oneonta Gorge (lower Oneonta off of HWY 30)is NOT an official trail.
*Information was found on Wikipedia and waterfallswest.com
These coordinates take you 100ft above the gorge , looking into the Oneonta Gorge above Lower Oneonta Falls. Hopefully you will be just a few feet from where the wooden sign once was (can still see the nails on the tree), overlooking the gorge.
You must email me the questions below to receive credit for this cache.
1. Looking to the north, how wide is the opening (widest width)?
2. As the crow flies, how far are you from Middle Oneonta Falls?
3. What do the words spell out on the wooden sign ? (*Sorry, the majority of the sign is missing *)
4. What is the footbridge to the south (near Middle Oneonta Falls) made out of?
5. You must either count your paces from GZ to the beginning of the foot bridge or take a picture of Oneonta Gorge or Middle Oneonta Falls (please don’t include the bridge).
Congratulations to LiefPhotos for being the First to visit The Oneonta Gorge Earthcache!