PORTLAND, Ore. -- The lower viewing platform at Multnomah Falls is back open. It lets visitors get up close and personal with the water.
Worries about rock fall and a failing safety fence closed the platform after the Eagle Creek fire swept through the area last summer. But now the fence is fixed and the people are back.
Away from the falls, some of the Gorge forest looks spectacular too. Thick trees cover the lower portions of the Angels Rest trail.
Down below, the trail still needs work, said Clay Courtright with Oregon State Parks. He said volunteer crews are parking at trailheads, which makes hikers think it is okay to go in and hike.
It is not.
“Please, no. It is not a green light to go hiking yet,” he said.
The popular Eagle Creek trail is not open, either. The forest service says it still needs to get crews into the area to assess the problems there.
Yes it is spring, and yes the Columbia Gorge is inviting, but no, you cannot hike, yet.
“There’s some areas back there that are badly burned. And either rocks covering the trail or just having this burned effect on the ground. You cannot see the trail,” said Rachel Pawlitz with the Forest Service.