Maybe it’s because we’re stuck at home, maybe it’s because we need to take our minds off the world for a few hours, or maybe it’s just because spring is springing, but a hike sure sounds nice right now. So here are some refreshing waterfall hikes to check out while keeping your mask in hand and your distance from fellow hikers.
Talking Water Gardens (~20 minutes NE)
If you’re looking for someplace close to town and with an easy walking trail, Talking Water Gardens in Albany is the way to go. Talking Water Gardens is a water treatment wetlands with several rushing waterfalls, which serves the purpose of cooling and oxygenating the City of Albany’s treated wastewater before it’s returned to the Willamette River. Although they’re manmade, these waterfalls and ponds are home to many plants and animals that will make the walk a joy.
Alsea Falls/Green Peak Falls (~45 minutes SW)
Alsea Falls is Benton County’s pride, about a 45 minute drive Southwest of Corvallis. With trails winding through a beautiful forest of yews, Douglas-firs, western hemlock and more, both Alsea Falls and Green Peak Falls are accessible by the footpaths along these rushing rivers. Plus, the trails at Alsea are numerous and varied enough that you could visit many days in a row and find new wonders each time.
Silver Falls (~70 minutes NE)
Silver Falls State Park is on Silver Creek, about a 70 minute drive Northeast of Corvallis. With accessible dirt paths and stairs along some inclines, the trails in the park will take you past, around, and even behind picturesque rushing waterfalls. The hike winds through a beautiful forest and along a rocky canyon, with scenic viewpoints that will really take your breath away.
Sweet Creek Falls (~1h 40 mins SW)
Sweet Creek Falls, located about a one hour and 40 minute drive Southwest of Corvallis, just East of Florence and Heceta Beach, is a hiking trail through the beautiful forest of the coast range. Through Douglas-fir, Alder and Big leaf maples, the trail passes by 11 waterfalls total. Sweet Creek Falls features a fairly easy and short trail, so it is perfect for a day with other plans or if you just enjoy the scenery of the drive.
Drift Creek Falls (~1h 40 mins NW)
Drift Creek Falls, with a drive of one hour and 40 minutes to about two hours, is located to the Northwest of Corvallis, just East of Lincoln City. Featuring sheer cliff faces, a beautiful 75-foot waterfall and even a suspension bridge, this coast-range trail is unique in its wonder and charm. It is another easy hike, but is not for the height-phobic. With trails peering from the forests into the ravine, it is easy to be awestruck at Drift Creek.
Trestle Creek Falls (~1h 40 mins SE)
Situated in the Umpqua National Forest about one hour and 40 minutes Southeast of Corvallis, the waterfall of Trestle Creek is accessible by Trestle Creek Trail. This bright trail meanders through an old growth forest ridden with ferns and bleeding heart flowers. Be careful of poison oak along this trail, but enjoy the trickling river and rushing falls. And if you’re feeling up for a longer day of hiking, check out the many river-following trailheads that surround this path.
Sahalie and Koosah Falls (~1h 45 mins E)
Located along the McKenzie River about a one hour and 45 minute drive East of Corvallis, Sahalie and Koosah Falls are two beautiful roaring water features you won’t want to miss. Willamette National Forest’s Waterfalls Loop Trail connects the two falls along with several smaller waterfalls in a hike along the lush green riverside. Surrounded by Douglas-fir, western hemlock and wetern red-cedar, the sound of the rushing river and the splash from the towering waterfalls will put your mind at peace.
By Ardea C. Eichner
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