Bottom Line: First time, and I am in love with this trail - waterfalls, flowers, enchanting groves of oak trees, interesting rock formations and basalt cliffs, gorge and Mt Hood views, late afternoon lighting, decent vertical, and all packaged into a loop!
Statistics:
- Distance - 6-1/2 miles
- Duration: 2-3/4 hours
- Vertical: 1275 feet
- Trail: dry, good condition, no snow, well-signed, very easy to follow despite somewhat confusing directions on the trail description, sustained up then down, open to mountain bikes (none seen)
- Weather: Partly sunny, calm winds, dry
- Takeaway: Another great Gorge trail for spring flowers and a unique (for me and WA) walk through mesmerizing oak groves
We parked at the Labyrinth Trailhead in Bingen WA off Hwy 14 (at the turnoff for Old Hwy 8 near a small lake) which has plenty of roadside parking. The hike is on the sunny south-facing slopes of the Gorge - wildflower country!
We took a counterclockwise route, ascending Labyrinth trail, descending Old Ranch Road to a Coyote Wall perch, and then looping back on Little Maui. This is an outstanding loop with a changing character throughout. The late afternoon sunshine bathed the scenery is warm light. The biggest waterwalls are on the Labyrinth ascent, although there are meadow creeks pretty much throughout the hike. Flowers were abundant - from poppies to balsamroot, lupine and desert parsley. The views of the Gorge and Mt Hood on the descent, as you open up into vast meadows, are especially lovely.
The loop starts/ends with a couple hundred meters on a decommissioned section of "Old Hwy 8" that runs parallel/above Hwy 14. There is considerable rockfall on this section - I could not tell whether it was new, but probably not somewhere to linger for too long (although your 1st waterfall here makes that a temptation). There are also noticeable bats on this section (probably elsewhere as well) so would probably not want to finish in the dark with a headlamp and risk contact.
