Alsea Falls is on the Alsea River outside of the hamlet of Alsea. I’m a native Oregonian, but I realized on our trip to Alsea Falls that I didn’t know how to pronounce the name. I was guessing “ALL-see,” and my husband suggested “All-SEE-ah.” Turns out, we were both wrong. The proper pronunciation is “AL-see.”
Now you know.
Located within the Alsea Falls Recreation Area, Alsea Falls should not be difficult to find. But learn a lesson from our mistake, and don’t trust your GPS to get you there. Our Maps app told us to turn on a random road that was not, in truth, the correct path. After getting back on the main road, we soon saw a sign for the Alsea Falls Recreation Area and Campground. We turned here and were told we still weren’t at the right place. Back on the main road again, it wasn’t long before we found a second sign for the Alsea Falls Recreation Area, and finally, we were in the right spot.
Spoiler alert: Wrong turns and bad directions were a theme for the day. Oh, well. We had a good time anyway.
Alsea Falls is just a short walk away from the parking lot (the second parking lot, to be clear). A set of stairs leads to the base of the waterfall where you can wander out onto the rocks and even into the river if you so desire. The waterfall itself is unimpressive, but pleasant.
A bit of backtracking leads to a footbridge across the Alsea River. On the other side, a sign marks the distance to Green Peak Falls.
The trail to Green Peak Falls is not my favorite. Remember what I said about wrong turns and bad directions? Despite the fact that there are three more signs along the trail to the waterfall (that I can remember), an additional four signs would be helpful. The trail is also narrow in places and has an abundance of potential stumbling blocks (aka roots and rocks). It cuts through two campsites (?!?) and is devoid of awe-inspiring views.
So…yeah. Not my favorite trail.
Our hike was going fine until we reached the first campsite. How awkward is it to walk through someone’s campsite?! I’m pretty sure the campers regretted their choice of location, especially since I’m also pretty sure we weren’t the only hikers to ask them if we were going the right way.
You see, a small sign clearly points the way to the campsite, but then there is no sign out of the campsite. And with multiple vehicles and tents set up and people trying to have a good time on Memorial Day weekend, it was difficult to tell for sure if the trail continues on the road to the campsite, or if there is a trail in a different direction that we couldn’t see.
Deciding the road must be the right path, we continued on our way. (The road is the correct path, FYI.) However, we were using the directions provided by OregonHikers.org, which mention the need to go through a campsite. Believing ourselves oriented, we began looking for a road/trail leading uphill to the right.
We found one. It didn’t quite fit the exact description, but it was close enough. And we went uphill. And uphill. And UPHILL. That trail was steep!!!
It wasn’t the right trail.
We returned to the road and soon came to an intersection. Crossing our fingers, we continued on the same road we were already on and soon came to another intersection. Again, we stayed the course and were rewarded with a sign (finally!) pointing the way to Green Peak Falls.
And guess what? This is where the second campsite is, which must be the one referenced by OregonHikers.org.
Another small sign marks the trail where it leads into the woods again, but after a short distance we encountered yet another unmarked intersection. Hoping for the best once more, we turned right, and right proved to be right. We reached Green Peak Falls at last.
And we decided it was worth it. The adventurous can cross the creek between the two tiers or climb up the right side of the waterfall to reach the top. Or, you can make your way downstream and out into the middle of the creek on some downed logs, which is where my husband was when he captured the photo above. In summer, this is undoubtedly a popular swimming hole.
There were other people at the falls while we were there, but it didn’t feel crowded. It was peaceful and beautiful and fun. A very nice end to a frustrating trek.
On our way back, we were asked for directions by two different sets of hikers. Sometimes it’s nice to know that others share my ignorance and confusion, and it’s not just me who is clueless. But if we help each other out and just keep going with our best guesses and our fingers crossed, we’ll get there eventually. Wherever “there” might be.
We left the Alsea Falls Recreation Site and made our way to one of the many “Fall Creek Falls” in Oregon, this one a roadside drop less than twenty miles away. However, we are not counting it as an official waterfall since it is less than ten feet tall, is mostly a fish ladder, and doesn’t offer a great view. If you want to track it down for yourself, you can use the directions in Greg Plumb’s Waterfall Lover’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest. We didn’t see it on our first pass, so we rolled down our windows and listened for it on the way back.
SUMMARY:
My rating: Worth the Effort (2 stars)
Alsea Falls: Waterfall – 2 stars, Trail – 2 stars, Experience – 2 stars
Green Peak Falls: Waterfall – 3 stars, Trail – 1 star, Experience – 3 stars
Distance from Beaverton: 2 hours southwest
Nearest town: Alsea
Nearest city: Eugene
County: Benton County
Length of round-trip hike: About 2.2 miles for the route described in this post, plus whatever extra adventuring you decide to do at Green Peak Falls. There are options to lengthen your hike if you wish. And if you wish to shorten your hike, you should be able to access the final portion of the Green Peak Falls trail from Hubert K McBee Memorial Park.
Best season to visit: Any season should be fine.
Things to know:
- In 2021, the fee to park in the Alsea Falls Recreation Site parking lot is $3.
Consider combining this trip with: Falls City Falls
Toilet / Amenities: Toilet, picnic tables, small grills at the Alsea Falls Recreation Site. Camping at Hubert K McBee Memorial Park, Alsea Falls Campground, and along the trail.
How to get there:
- From Corvallis, take Highway 99W south for about 15 miles.
- Turn right on Alpine Road.
- Stay on this road for about 13.5 miles. (The road becomes South Fork Road and Glenbrook Road at various times.)
- Don’t take the first right for the Alsea Falls Recreation Site. Turn right at the second sign.
- There are multiple paths from the parking lot to the trail. Look for the sign and footbridge pictured below.
- Follow the sign to the left, and you’ll soon come to the stairs leading down to the river and the waterfall.
- Backtrack to the footbridge pictured above and cross it.
- Follow the sign to the left. The trail is easy to follow until you reach the first campsite. From here, turn left onto the road.
- Stay on the road as two other roads intersect with it from the left. The second road has a bridge just before the intersection. From this second intersection, you can see McBee Park farther down the road, and before that, the sign pointing the way to the falls to the right.
- Turn right at the sign, pass the second campsite, and follow the trail sign into the woods.
- At the next intersection, turn right and find Green Peak Falls a short distance away. (On your way back, you can opt to go straight here instead of turning left, and you’ll come out in the campsite a bit closer to the road.)
- To sum up, turn left onto the road at the first campsite. After that, when in doubt, stay to the right. But don’t turn off the road until you see the sign at the second campsite.
Helpful websites:
- https://www.blm.gov/visit/alsea-falls-recreation-site
- https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Alsea_and_Green_Peak_Falls_Hike
- https://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall/Alsea-Falls-4819
- https://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall/Green-Peak-Falls-4820
- https://www.theoutbound.com/oregon/hiking/hike-to-alsea-and-green-peak-falls
- https://www.outdoorproject.com/united-states/oregon/alsea-falls-recreation-area
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