This post is part 2 of our series on Oregon waterfalls and the hikes to get to them. It covers hikes to Oregon’s majestic Mount Hood and central waterfalls.
Mount Hood Area Falls
There are several waterfall hikes around Mount Hood. Depending on when you go, you may find yourself hiking through snow. When we went, they had received a lot of snow at Mount Hood. We didn’t want to make Benji trudge through miles of snow at the time, so we skipped the ones we’d intended to see. These were Sahale and Umbrella Falls. Instead, we opted to go to Tamanawas Falls. This was where we discovered Benji just LOVES the snow, as seen in this video.
Tamanawas Falls – Rocky Hike, Stellar Falls
The hike to Tamanawas Falls is about 4.5 miles out and back. The elevation gain is 610 feet. It’s a fairly easy hike until you get to the rock field, which you must climb on, over, and around. That makes the hike a little more challenging. The waterfall and the trail scenery are worth it. Here’s what the trail and waterfall look like.
Ramona Falls – Uncrossable River Prevents Access
The road into the parking area is one monster-sized pothole after another. The parking lot can get busy. It wasn’t when we were there, but that was late in the afternoon, mid-week in the spring. After walking a little over a mile, we got to the river, which was roaring and deep in spots. We had Benji with us, of course. There’s no way he’d walk on a downed tree across the river. We didn’t walk along the river to find a better place to cross, though, and there might have been a better place downstream. Looking at other reviews, it seems more doable when the water is low, but that also means the waterfall isn’t as impressive. I have wanted to go to this waterfall for a long time, so I was sad we couldn’t get there.
I will say the views of Mount Hood are stellar here. Here are the only pics I got.
Celestial Falls and White River Falls – Double the Fun
These two waterfalls are beautiful, but in the middle of nowhere. It took us an hour and twenty minutes to get here from Ainsworth State Park, but it felt like we were a million miles away from civilization. The trail from Celestial Falls down to viewing spots for both falls is self-explanatory, but this is where we went while we were there. Good hiking boots will help on the steeper inclines. Thankfully, this location has flush toilets, which are closed in the winter. But in lieu (no pun intended) of those, they provide portapotties. There are picnic tables, so take something to eat and plenty of water.
Central Oregon Falls
This area I’m talking about is roughly bound by Salem to the north, Eugene to the west, Idaho to the east and Crater Lake to the south.
Abiqua – Ridiculous Parking and Hike, Beautiful Swimming Hole/Waterfall
Getting to this waterfall is rather difficult. First, the road to the trail is so bad that you must either park higher up in a lot before the gravel road and walk the rest of the 2 miles to the trailhead or try to find parking along the cratered out road. Once you get to the trailhead, it’s a matter of figuring out which way to go because it’s not well-marked. In our AllTrails map, you can see what we did. And in the description on AllTrails, this note is of particular importance:
Shortly after the big sign, the trail will seem to split. One path has a fallen tree crossing the trail, and the other path to your right is well-traveled. Stay to your left and walk over the fallen tree. Shortly after you cross over the log, you will see an identical black and white sign. You’ll see a long-knotted rope anchored to the base of a small tree. This is the trail you want to take. Further down the trail, you’ll get to a point where two large trees have fallen down parallel to one another, leading straight down to the river’s edge. There is a rope that leads down the entire length of these logs. This is the easiest way down to the valley floor. There are no bathrooms.
This waterfall and hike gave Rick nightmares since this is where he crashed his drone when it lost its GPS. So, if you bring your drone, be mindful of the lack of a GPS signal here. This is what the road, trail, rope line, and waterfall look like.
Trail of Ten Falls – Nice, Easy Hikes, No Dogs Allowed on Most Trails
This string of falls is located in a beautiful area between Silverton and Sublimity, Oregon. Silverton is a lovely gem. We stayed at Silver Spur RV Park, which was fabulous, to visit the nearby waterfalls. The Trail of Ten Falls is in Silver Falls State Park. There are restrooms, picnic areas, and a gift shop. There is a fee to park. Dogs are only allowed in certain areas and not on most trails. This was the first place we came to know Benji, our foster at the time, and later adopted dog, was enchanted with children. Here are images of the area, the falls we could get to, and a couple of little ones who fell in love with Benji.
Tumalo Falls – Utterly Unbelievable
When we visited this park, we were on what we called “the smoke tour.” That’s because Oregon was on fire. The air quality index in Bend was 500+. But it was also during COVID lockdowns, and so getting out in your RV was about the only way you could recreate. Many of the waterfalls we had planned to see when we were planning in July were inaccessible due to the fires in September. But Tumalo, in Bend, is a fantastic waterfall that was still open during Covid and the fires. Our AllTrails map shows the trail we took and more about the area. The pictures show how the smoke lingered around the falls.
Paulina Falls – Whispy Falls, Ominous Obsidian Hikes
The waterfalls are beautiful. The lake is gorgeous. But the hike over mountains of obsidian is fascinating— obsidian looks like giant, black, polished gemstones. The pumice that fills the gaps is very light, but looks heavy. You can see from the picture of Rick throwing it up in the air. One thing to note about walking on the obsidian is that it’s very rough on your shoes/feet. Don’t take animals on these obsidian trails because they will cut their feet. And you should wear sturdy hiking boots with good tread. Native Americans used obsidian to make arrowheads. There’s a reason!
There are many trails — you can hike around the lake(s), and several paths lead up the obsidian, volcanic hills. Here’s a map that shows an overview of the area and what’s there.
There are thirteen trails in this area. The one we did is called “Obsidian Flow Trail.” We also walked for a bit along Paulina Lake’s shore, and of course, we walked to the waterfalls. Here are the pictures we got.
Salt Creek Falls – Stunner in the middle of the Forest
If you head from Paulina into LaPine and down I-97, take the 58 West turn and follow that to the Salt Creek Day Use Area. It was the smoke tour when we went, so many places were closed. Salt Creek trails were closed due to the nearby fires. We had to park along the highway and walk around the gate to the closed entrance to get to the trail that takes you to the observation point. Here’s what this beauty looks like, though.
Conclusion
There are some stunning waterfalls in this area of Oregon. Some of the hikes are leisurely, and some are treacherous. It’s best to be prepared. In this series, we’ve included a post about what you should wear, what you should bring, and what you should do before you leave. That’s number five in this series.
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