Oregon Waterfalls

 Summer 2020 - The Beauty of the Oregon Waterfalls

One thing that peaks our interest are waterfalls and hiking to waterfalls.  It's that reward we get at the destination. The roaring sound, the misty freshness of the air and the marvel of the crashing water rumble, all make a waterfall an all inspiring adventure for us.  Lucky for us... we are in Oregon and they have lots of the two main elements...water and mountains!

We read somewhere that Oregon boasts over 238 waterfalls which are located over the entire State.  We only focused on a very small area during our Oregon travels and for this blog most of them are located in south-central Oregon.

Our first waterfall adventure started along Highway 62 around the Crater Lake area. National Creek Falls plunge about 40 feet over a basalt outcropping into pools at the bottom.  The forest in this area is very thick with ferns, moss and trees.  We had to chase a couple dozen mosquitoes off.

National Creek Falls

Barr Creek Falls first drops over a 60 foot fall which was mostly obscured by trees, then it cascades 30 feet and finally plunges 150 feet to the canyon floor for a total of 240 feet.

Barr Falls

Our second waterfall outing was a day trip along State 138 from Roseburg thru the Diamond Lake area and back home. There are a lot of interesting vistas, history and waterfalls along this road that we only experienced a select few that was within our hiking capabilities and time constraints. 

This route is also known as the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway in Oregon. So that gives you some idea of the beauty of the area is known for. (Unfortunately this area is currently burning in the Archie Creek fire as we go to 'print' with this blog and is at 132,000 burned acres and only about 50 percent contained.  We are thankful that we were able to enjoy this area before the fire. We hope all are safe and that nature will recover in time.)

Our first stop was Susan Creek Falls and it required a short hike to view the 50 foot waterfall.

Susan Creek Falls

One of our many sight-seeing stops was this very unique Tioga Bridge built in 2013. This bridge was built on the same piers of the Young's Bay Bridge, associated with local lumber company, that washed out in 1964. All that remained were the concrete piers. So for many reasons they erected the new Tioga Bridge on the same piers and also tried to keep most of the rustic flare of the old wooden bridge by constructing the new bridge with wooden 'Glu-lam' beams.

Old Young's Bay Bridge before it washed out (photo from internet)

Tioga Bridge

Next stop wasn't on our list to see but we have been known to take a road less travelled and find an adventure. So that's when we found the Little Falls. There was not much water flowing at this time of year but still was an worthwhile stop. When water flow is good you would see less rock and more water.

Little Falls

Little Falls

The highlight of day was the half a mile hike to Toketee Falls.  Toketee is an Chinook Indian word meaning 'pretty'. This is a triple tier waterfall in that the North Umpqua River plunges 40 feet over the upper two ledges into a large cavity which then plummets another 80 feet through the notch into a large plunge pool for a total of 120 feet of waterfall. What really adds to this waterfall is the rock formations around the waterfall. The vertical columns of basaltic lava frame the waterfall and add to the massiveness of the area.

Toketee Falls

We didn't say it was an easy hike and all information warned us of the more than 200 steps up and down and that it took a lot of physical & mental pushing to get to the end.  We all made it and noted that it was well worth the effort.

Jack on some of the many steps.

Bill and Donna making their way back to the car.

Once we made our way back to the car we took the time to read the history and take some photos of the old and interesting water aqueduct which is still in operation today. The 12 foot diameter redwood-stave pipeline was built in 1949 to flow water from the nearby dam and directs water flows to the water generator turbines a mile beyond the falls. This part of the pipeline is a historic site and continues to be repaired to maintain the Registry for the historic value.  As the photo shows there are spraying leaks along the pipe and redwood shims & stakes plugging others, but that adds to the attraction to the pipeline.

Water aqueduct near Toketee Falls

See the spray from the half- century old redwood aqueduct.

This day was like the old saying 'so many places so little time' but we had one more stop before heading home and it was Watson Falls.  Watson Falls is one of the tallest waterfalls in Southwestern Oregon at 272 feet.  The hike to the falls was a short but challenging one. The path was lined with with trees, ferns, mossy rocks and followed the creek from the falls.  

Some of the 'Rain Forest' along the trail

Starting to see and hear the falls ahead

Watson Falls

Watson Falls

Making our way back to the car from Watson Falls.

So much of this post we were just 'going with the flow' in search of waterfalls.  There are so many more waterfalls we did not get to see but maybe next time. 

Thanks for taking time to read our adventures.  Until next time - Be Happy!