Labyrinth & Coyote Wall Hike – Columbia River Gorge

Located east of the Cascade Crest, the Coyote Wall area features scenic vistas of the Columbia River, several waterfalls, and outstanding rocky prominences.

distance: 7 miles
elevation gain:  1,420 ft.
difficulty: moderate
best season: February-May
drive time from Portland: 1 hour 30 minutes
parking pass: none

Gaia track for Labyrinth-Coyote Wall loop hike

The Hike

We escaped the rain (mostly) for a loop hike in the Coyote Wall area. Early wildflowers are looking great, including grass widows, shooting stars, and yellow bells. The balsam-root on the western portion of the loop are just getting started with a few small blooms.

We parked at the Coyote Wall trailhead and started the hike on Old Highway 8. The rock walls next to the road are filled with desert parsley and other tough plants acclimated to the dry climate here.

Shooting stars next to the trail at lower elevation.

Typical scene on the Labyrinth Trail as it winds its way uphill.

Labyrinth Creek just below the waterfall that I couldn’t get a good photo of.

The rocky prominence in the distance is a popular rock climbing spot known as Wankers Columns.

Grass widows are an abundant early bloomer in this area.

I love the structure of the oak trees in this area. This one has a good view of the Columbia River.

Desert parsley was also abundant on this route. This variety is named for the county it is located in: Klickitat desert parsley (lomatium klickitatense).

We stopped for a lunch break at Coyote Wall and watched the skies change color with incoming rain.

We were planning to do a slightly longer loop on the Little Maui Trail, but the skies were starting to darken and we could see rain coming so we took the shorter and steeper trail from Coyote Wall back to the trailhead. It rained on and off for the last mile of our hike.

Klickitat desert parsley (lomatium klickitatense) growing in the rocks in the section next to the road.