Paid parking permits are returning to the most popular tourist destination in Oregon later this month, as officials again try to stop folks from “loving Multnomah Falls to death.”

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area announced timed-use permits are back. Anyone using the Interstate-84 Multnomah Falls Parking Lot (Exit 31) must buy a permit ahead of time. Permits are required daily between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The $2 parking fee begins Friday, May 23, and continues through Labor Day, Sept. 1. Purchase permits online.

Permits release two weeks prior to the visit date. A limited number of in-person, same-day permits (no fee) are also available at the Gateway to the Gorge Visitor Center in Troutdale and the Cascade Locks Historical Museum.

Each permit lists a one-hour time slot for your arrival at the falls parking lot. You can then stay as long as you like. Having a paid permit does not guarantee a parking spot.

Curbing tourism crush

The purpose of the permit system, launched in 2021 by the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon Department of Transportation, is to help reduce congestion, increase safety and improve the visitor experience to Multnomah Falls. It has been an unpopular method, though others are starting to mimic it — Troutdale announced a plan to charge visitors to Glenn Otto Park a summer fee.

Multnomah Falls has millions of visitors a year. The crush of people makes for at best an unpleasantly crowded outing and at worst a dangerous situation. Officials cite people idling on highways or turning narrow roadways into impromptu parking spots.

There aren’t many better (or cheaper) options to visit Multnomah Falls. Parking meters were installed last year at the Historic Highway parking lot, across from the lodge. Sasquatch Shuttle enacted that system after leasing the lot from Union Pacific Railroad. It costs between $5-20 depending on the time and day.

Sasquatch Shuttle is one of several that offer alternative transport to the falls (they pickup in Bridal veil, 47100 W. Mill Road). There is also Columbia Area Transit, with service from Gateway Transit Center, Cascade Locks and Hood River.