Oregon by Greyhound • Abiqua Falls

The Adventure Abiqua Falls

Location LAT 44.849 N LON 122.33938 W

Date May 26, 2009

Weather 75°, Sunny

Distance 28.1 miles


Correction, Oregon without greyhound.

My favorite description of Abiqua Falls was "rough trail, rougher road but worth it." Everything I read said that the trails were not maintained and that we would be scrambling over rocks and logs... and they were right.

On a sunny Tuesday afternoon Karen and I played hookie from work, told the greyhounds we'd see them after work and headed for the hills.

The wild iris by the sides of the road were my first clue that we were in for a greyt adventure.

The road down to the trail head was steep, wide enough for the Element and peppered with big sharp rocks. The Element made it fine, but the bug would have left car pieces parts from the underside in a trail behind it as we drove.

I had three thoughts navigating down.

1. Holy crap I can't believe I am driving down this road
2. I seriously hope we don't meet anybody because this road isn't wide enough for two cars and I'm not backing up
3. It's the trail head or bust, there wasn't any place to turn around.

I did feel much safer because Karen road the brakes all the way down as she sat on the passengers side. I was really glad she couldn't see the drop off on my side.


The road got much better as we got to the trail head. A nice relief for me.


Since she didn't have a greyhound, Karen had tripod patrol. We walked back on the road about 100 ft. and found the trail head. After hugging a tree to get around the 10 ft. drop off the trail looked like it was going to be smooth sailing.


Most of the trail really wasn't that bad, it was steep, narrow and a little rocky but over all very manageable. That is until the last 50 ft. down to the creek.


Going down. Not so bad, but I did have thoughts of having to haul my ass back up out of there.


The trail was almost non-existent once we got down to the creek. The fallen old growth trees had been worn smooth from all of the other butts that had to slide over them.


At last we had reached the final turn in the creek not really knowing what was around the corner.


This is Abiqua Falls. Rough trail, rough road but so totally worth it.


Karen is dwarfed by the 101 ft. falls. It is part of the same geological formation as Silver Falls State Park.


The amphitheater that surrounds the falls is undescribably beautiful. It is probably about the size of a football field. But remember, I am directionally challenged and the same goes for calculating distances without a measuring device of some sort.


The falls are framed by columnar basalt, rusty red to the right and spring green to the left. (Wish I could say which way was north or south, but you have already heard the drill... directionally challenged.)


I could have stayed there for hours. And I will definitely brave the roads to go back.


Looking downstream into the "forest primevil" as Karen referred to it.


After a relaxing time in the tropical amphitheather Karen so rudely announced that it was time to go home and run the dogs. Hitching up the team of white horses to drag me out of there she threatened that it was time to go now, or as she lovingly put it, she had her own key to the Element and would gladly meet me at home.

The scramble over the rocks and up the hill began.


Going up. Always so glad that I have the camera and not her. This is not a shot of me that I would like to share with the world.


Still climbing, but worth every huff and puff it took to get out of there.