Another weekend gave us another chance to Wanderlust around our new-found home in Oregon. This time, not too far from Portland where we reside, we happened upon another miraculous site of majesty that also resides in this beautiful state. And it wasn't too far away.
In the small town of Mapleton, just outside of the coast city, Florence, and about 60 miles from Eugene, where the University of Oregon calls home (GO DUCKS), it's not only renowned for its proximity to nature every 10 ft that you step in either way in this town, but also for Sweet Creek Falls Trailhead. What is great about this Trailhead is it is easy and short, unlike many trails that exist in Portland. It isn't the easiest, but it is easy enough for kids, dogs, and the moderately healthy of person.
This trail is only a little over a mile long, making you able to hike both in and out in just over 2 miles. There are four different catwalks, (or bridges) that make this hike a little more exciting and not just your dull, every day stroll through the woods. It is also accompanied with stairs and little cut-offs of the main path in order to get better views of the waterfalls and rapid river that runs right next to the trailhead. This trail is not handicap accessible by any means, but I could hardly say that you would break a sweat by traversing the mix of a hundred feet that rise and fall along this trailhead.
We read the reviews that warned us to get to the trailhead a little early because the parking lot fills up fast. We are not morning people though, so we ended up leaving Portland around 9 a.m., and it was a fairly short ride of almost 3 hours to Eugene. By the time we made it to Eugene it was lunch time, so we stopped at Fisherman's Market, a small fish joint right near downtown. It had amazing reviews on Yelp and I also learned that it was visited by Guy Fieri of Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. Who can resist a TV worthy restaurant? We shared the captain's platter which came with fried shrimp, fried fish, fried clams, and waffle fries. You also got to choose between two different kinds of coleslaw, one being sweet and one being Savory. I went with the Savory one, being lime and cilantro. This was the most amazing coleslaw I have ever had. It tastes absolutely nothing like coleslaw, but it is addictive and a great side to add to the fried platter.
After finishing up lunch and enjoying it, we headed towards the Sweet Creek Falls Trailhead, which is about an hour outside of Eugene, in Mapleton. As you take OR-26 out towards the coast, you get to go through in small towns that are making it work on the outskirts of a large city. Beautiful sites as you take a winding road through mountains that are populated with Douglas Firs. If you love Christmas, this is your place to be!
When we finally made it to the Falls Trailhead, it was just as explained in the review. It was a very small parking lot of about 10 parking spaces, along with a small bathroom and no trash cans. Any trash that you bring with you, you must also take with you as trash does not run out to the Falls area. We found a parking spot that was on the outskirt of the parking area, which you're probably not supposed to park in, but it worked for us while we were there.
As you enter the trailhead you take a trail that runs right next to a babbling brook, although it was a little bit more than babbling and rushing a little bit quicker than that. There were several different waterfalls, 11 to be exact, and opportunities to stop and enjoy each one. Not only could you just look, but many times you could actually walk out to the waterfalls and rocks in order to get a better view. Many times I dunked my hand and the freezing cold water, and was an onlooker on a few college kids that were making the brave decision to go swimming in the frigid waters.
It is hard to tell when the trail actually ends. Just keep walking on it until it completely ends and then you will know that you have reached the full 1 mile of the trek. From there, there is another trail that you can take to view the upper part of the main waterfall. We weren't going to do it at first, but then something called me and I just went for it. I strongly suggest that everybody goes to the upper area. This is where you can really get up-close-and-personal with the waterfall. There is a fence in the way to keep you from getting close to it, but we never follow rules! Crawl over it but be careful, it can be slippery.
Thank you for reading and checking out my post about the amazing nature walks of the state of Oregon. Please continue to follow me if you want to see where our next adventure brings us. We try to do a different place at least three times a month! Happy travels and keep the Wanderlust alive.
