Cushing Falls

We took a day trip in January 2022 to White River Falls, but the first stop on our list was Cushing Falls, outside of The Dalles. There’s really nothing special about this one. If you’re passing close by, it’s worth a visit, but don’t make a special trip just for Cushing. SUMMARY: My rating: Worth…

Chichester Falls and Portland Creek Falls

At the end of November 2021, we traveled through the charming little town of Lowell to find five waterfalls. The first was Chichester Falls. Isn’t the contrast between the leaves and moss-covered gorge lovely? Chichester is not a large drop, but the short walk from the road to the viewpoint is well worth it. Our…

Falls City Falls

Falls City Falls is located, unsurprisingly, in Falls City. It drops almost perpendicular to a narrow gorge, which I find unique and appealing. The waterfall may be accessed from either side of the river. In the photo above, you can see my son and me making our way along one side of the gorge, while…

Alsea Falls and Green Peak Falls

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.”…

Umbrella Falls (Nehalem Fish Hatchery)

Umbrella Falls is a small but beautiful waterfall accessed from the Nehalem Fish Hatchery.

Highway 58 Falls

Three waterfalls are found just off of Highway 58 between Dexter and Oakridge. The first is South Creek Falls, a small drop mostly obscured by downed trees. To be fair, we visited in May of 2019, just a few months after a record-setting snowstorm blew through the area, and there were felled trees everywhere. Perhaps…

Clearwater Falls and Whitehorse Falls

Clearwater Falls and Whitehorse Falls are located near Highway 138, just 3.5 miles away from each other. Both waterfalls are extremely short hikes, and both are notably scenic. The logjam at the base of Clearwater Falls provides a fantastic photo op; in fact, we had to wait our turn for a family selfie as other…

Lemolo Falls and Warm Springs Falls

Lemolo Falls is beautiful. Getting there however, is not. The parking area and much of the trail was extremely dusty when we visited in September 2020. I assume that means that, in the rainy seasons, the trail is extremely muddy. In addition, the mile-long trail is downhill the entire way to the waterfall and, therefore,…

Toketee Falls

As we pulled into the parking lot for Toketee Falls, we were mystified by what appeared to be a ginormous wooden pipe, with geysers of water spraying out in every direction. A closer look proved that impression to be exactly right! The information kiosk at the trailhead explained: The 12-foot diameter redwood-stave flowline was constructed in…

Deadline Falls and Fern Creek Falls

The curse of 2020 struck again just after Labor Day, when so many fires burned out of control across Oregon’s forests. One of those, the Archie Creek Fire, ravaged Douglas County along Highway 138 – exactly where we had been camping a few days before. Several of the falls we visited on this trip are…

Wah Gwin Gwin Falls

I had low expectations for Wah Gwin Gwin Falls because it is located on the grounds of a hotel. However, the Columbia Gorge Hotel property is lovely and welcoming, even to grungy day-trippers like ourselves. This is definitely a quick stop without much adventure, but it is beautiful enough to warrant a visit. SUMMARY: My…

Jackson Creek Falls

We visited Jackson Creek Falls twice. The first time was on the way home from our Sweet Creek Falls trip at the end of summer, and the “waterfall” was just a wet spot on the rock. The following January, we visited on the way home from our Epic Coos County Adventure, and lo and behold,…