Salt Creek Falls in August 2013

Salt Creek Falls is reported to be the second tallest single-drop waterfall in Oregon (after Multnomah Falls). At 286′, Salt Creek Falls is extremely impressive, to say the least.

As I left for the falls today, I was expecting the parking area for the falls to be extremely busy, as it is a Saturday. It ended up not being extremely busy, and I was able to find a parking spot almost immediately. I didn’t get to see the falls right away, because almost instantly after arriving, a rather intense hailstorm (with some thunder) hit. I’m actually glad I wasn’t driving. That finally subsided, and I was able to walk to the falls. It’s a very short walk, so if you’re headed to Crater Lake from Eugene, you could stop here quickly.

There is a main viewpoint for the falls, and then there is a trail that leads down to the base. Both of these are more than adequate. The upper viewpoint might even be handicapped accessible, and most visitors could view it with very minimal difficulty. The benefit of taking the trail down is that you get to see the amazing cliffs that you were standing on just moments before. The volcanic rock was really interesting.

I was also planning on visiting Diamond Creek Falls, which is a 1.5 mile hike from the parking area, but the rain and thunder deterred me from going further. (I do not care for thunder at all, and reports on the radio indicated that there were some pretty severe thunderstorms in the region.) You might decide to check that out also.

Directions:

1. The falls are found almost directly of off OR-58, east of Oakridge and west of the US-97 intersection.
2. There are multiple signs indicating the turn for Salt Creek Falls. If you are headed east, turn right.
3. Take a sharp right and continue down the paved road to the loop at the end. The parking area is actually very close to the main road.
4. It’s a very short walk along a paved path to the Salt Creek Falls viewpoint. To find Diamond Creek Falls, go to the far left end of the parking lot, and park near the Diamond Creek Trailhead.

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy)
Height: 286′
Length of Hike: 0.1 miles round-trip

Where in the World is Salt Creek Falls?