Willamette Falls

Called the “great chief of waters” by the Native Americans, what is now called Willamette Falls was regarded as a living thing–not only the chief, but the heart and soul of the land. For thousands of years the falls provided salmon, a rich source of trade and sustenance to thriving local tribes. The horseshoe-shaped falls are the second-largest in the United States after Niagara Falls. In the late 1800s, as the cities of Oregon City and West Linn grew, the falls provided lumber and flour mill power, and navigation locks for river traffic and electricity. Hydroelectric generation in 1888 supplied electricity to Portland, the first long-distance (14-mile) transmission in the U.S.

The historic falls encompass not only a visual thrill, but a context for the loss of vibrant Indian cultures surmounted by the mass American migration and subsequent historic uses of hydroelectric power, navigation locks and today’s paper mills. Once supporting a thriving Clackamas Indian culture for thousands of years, the falls became the site for Oregon City, the hub of the Oregon Territory in the 1800s.  

• ADA accessible
• Interpretive signage
• Visitor center nearby
• Located on both public and private land