Abstract
Multnomah Falls, a 620-ft-tall waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge, is the most visited natural site in Oregon. Its economic value is unclear, however, as the Falls are free to access. Due to a wildfire in 2017, the site was partially closed for over a year. Costly repair work was carried out along the single trail that allows visitors to hike to the top of the waterfall. In this study, we first determined the overall economic value of this iconic site. Secondly, we broke down the economic value by the different trail segments at Multnomah Falls. Using the contingent valuation method, we estimated willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the Falls (n = 1190) and counted visitors using infrared sensors along the trail and parking lot count data from June to September 2019 to obtain economic benefits across the population. We found that visitors who travelled to the top of the Falls experienced greater WTP than ones who only travelled to the bottom, with mean WTP ranging from $8.24 - $9.66 per trip. The total annual benefit provided by Multnomah Falls is estimated to be at least $11.23 m, which considerably exceeds the cost of repairing the trails after the fire (approximately $3 m).
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