Cascade Locks, Oregon · Trail
Official site ↗Gorge Waterfalls
A 100K and a 50K through the waterfall corridor of the Columbia River Gorge on consecutive April days: 62 miles with 11,000 feet of climbing, and 31.3 miles with 5,800.
Distances
100K
- Distance
- 62 mi (100 km)
- Vert gain
- 11,000 ft (3,400 m)
- Start
- 5:00 AM GMT-7
- Cutoff
- 17 hr
Saturday. Mass start at Marine Park, no waves; the finish closes at 10:00 p.m. On-course cutoffs 12:15 p.m. at mile 25.8, 2:15 p.m. at 33.0, 3:45 p.m. at 38.6, 6:45 p.m. at 48.7 and 9:25 p.m. at 58.8
50K
- Distance
- 31.3 mi (50 km)
- Vert gain
- 5,800 ft (1,800 m)
- Start
- 8:00 AM GMT-7
- Cutoff
- 9 hr 6 min
Sunday. Four waves at 8:00, 8:03, 8:06 and 8:09 from the Wahkeena Day Use Area, with a mandatory shuttle and no drop-offs; the race measures its cutoffs from the last wave and the finish closes at 5:15 p.m.
| Distance | Vert gain | Start | Cutoff | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 mi (100 km) | 11,000 ft (3,400 m) | 5:00 AM GMT-7 | 17 hr | Saturday. Mass start at Marine Park, no waves; the finish closes at 10:00 p.m. On-course cutoffs 12:15 p.m. at mile 25.8, 2:15 p.m. at 33.0, 3:45 p.m. at 38.6, 6:45 p.m. at 48.7 and 9:25 p.m. at 58.8 |
| 31.3 mi (50 km) | 5,800 ft (1,800 m) | 8:00 AM GMT-7 | 9 hr 6 min | Sunday. Four waves at 8:00, 8:03, 8:06 and 8:09 from the Wahkeena Day Use Area, with a mandatory shuttle and no drop-offs; the race measures its cutoffs from the last wave and the finish closes at 5:15 p.m. |
About
Gorge Waterfalls runs the trails above the Columbia River east of Portland, past the string of waterfalls the corridor is named for. Both ultras finish at Marine Park in Cascade Locks, and they run on different days: the 100K on the Saturday, the 50K on the Sunday. A 30K runs on the Friday.
The 100K covers 62 miles with about 11,000 feet of climbing, starting and finishing at Marine Park. The 50K covers 31.3 miles with 5,800 feet, starting up the gorge at the Wahkeena Day Use Area and running back down to the same finish. Everybody in the 50K rides a shuttle to the start; nobody is allowed to drive there.
It is the flagship of Daybreak Racing, produced with Freetrail, and the 100K is a Western States 100 qualifier. It is also the only Daybreak race with its own domain, gorgewaterfalls.com, which redirects to the same page.
Course
The 100K is an out-and-back-and-out shape from Marine Park: west up the gorge to Ainsworth and Wahkeena, back east through Wahclella to Cascade Locks, then further east to Wyeth and back. It has eight aid stations. The 50K is point to point from Wahkeena down to Marine Park with four. Both are cupless, and the 100K requires the course GPX file loaded on a watch or phone.
The 50K starts in four waves three minutes apart, and the race says outright that its cutoffs are measured from the final wave rather than the first.
How to register
Open sign-up on UltraSignup, and the race says so twice: "There is no lottery for any race registrations" and "Once registration opens, each race sells out quickly." Each race day is capped at 450 runners. Entry for 2027 opens on October 5, 2026, priced in two windows: the 100K at $270 then $290, the 50K at $190 then $205, and the 30K at $140 then $155. A limited number of entries is held back for professional runners, first come first served.
Results by year
More from Daybreak Racing
- Bachelor Ascent · Bend, Oregon
- Backcountry Rise · Toutle, Washington
- Hood Hundred · Mount Hood, Oregon
- Perpetua Coast · Yachats, Oregon
- Rogue Gorge · Union Creek, Oregon
- The Big Alta · San Rafael, California
- Thunder River · Cascade Locks, Oregon
- Tillamook Burn · Timber, Oregon
- Wy'east Trailfest · Mount Hood, Oregon