Drift Creek Falls

By Bebaysna Rai on December 29, 2011 in Places To Visit In Oregon

Drift Creek Falls takes you through a worldly experience up close and personal with the nature. Enjoy the amazing trail as you cross the creek along a suspended bridge through the canopy of the forest, overlooking the gushing waterfall. As you walk through the bridge one can get a bird’s eye view of the creek and the Coast Range Forest and the waterfall gushing from the top of the creek. Drift Creek Trial carries you away to that special place where it’s your imagination travels and you follow.

Drift Creek Falls Location

Drift Creek Falls is located at the Coast Range of Oregon at the Siuslaw National Forest. It is few miles east from Lincoln City. There are two ways in which you can reach the Drift Creek Fall: Take a drive through the Highway 101, through the Culter City along the Drift Creek Road. As you reach the South Drift Creek take a right turn driving for about .25 miles then a left turn from Road 17 takes you to the head of the adventurous Drift Creek Falls Trial. The other option would be to follow the Highway 18 east for about 3.5 miles from near the town of Otis where the Highway 101 intersects the Highway 18. Once you reach the Bear Creek Road which turns into FSR 18, just 9 miles away is the head of the Drift Creek Trial. Just follow the pavement till the head of the trial from the Lincoln city.

Picture 1 - Drift Creek Falls

The way to the Drift Creek Trial appears to be like an old logging road. The winding road, occasional washout and an encounter with the logging trucks is an uncommon sight. There are spots where the road is narrow and only one vehicle can pass at a time but with all this problems, the road to the trial is well maintained.

Drift Creek Fall History

Drift Creek Fall Bridge was built in 1998 as an outcome of the inspiration of late Scott Paul, who was a trial builder of the US Forest Service at Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, WA. The project was stopped temporarily when Scott Paul lost his life during an accident while excavating the anchors and abutments of the bridge. Later, his associate and a fellow trial builder, Sahale owner Carroll Vogel, joined the project after the design had been completed and assisted in the completion of the project as a tribute to his lost friend. Several designs were made before the construction of this bridge and the raw materials for its constructing was transported through a helicopter to this site.

Drift Creek Fall Attractions

Drift Creek Fall has become one of the most popular trials in Oregon central coast. Apart from the flora and fauna enjoyed along the coastal trial, Drift Creek Trial also boasts about the suspension bridge and the waterfall. The 250 foot suspension bridge paves the way through the canopy of the forest, providing an out of this world view of the drift creek. As you walk through the bridge, one can get a bird’s eye view of the 80 foot waterfall as it gushes through the creek.

Drift creek trial is an easy trial for all those who love to visit the forest and coastal environment without going for a tiresome hike. On reaching the head of the trial, the entire journey is 1.25 miles one-way. Along the trial, as you walk along the woods, one can see the early spring plants like Redwood Sorrel, Bitter Cress and Oyster Mushrooms. The trail slowly descends through the sword fern, huckleberry, Douglas Fir and Salmonberry which later switches to mossy logs, big leaf maples, red alders, hemlock and western red cedars.

As you walk along the trial, the gurgling sound of the stream soothes ones ears. Enjoying the wonderful trial with native plants along the way, the trial leads to a dramatic suspension bridge. This 250 foot high bridge crosses the Drift creek and provides an easy access to the opposite side of the gorge. The drift creek bridge is anchored in rocks on both the ends. The bridge is quite an attraction as it crosses through the canopy of the forest overlooking the creek and the gushing Drift Creek Fall. The bridge sways a little as you walk over it. Standing 250 foot above the base of the creek, one can get a bird’s-eye view of the scenic beauty of the creek and the waterfall.

The Drift Creek Fall is not a very huge waterfall, however, it has a charm of its own. It plunges 66 feet at the side of the gorge. The appearance of the fall has changed since the major rock slide in August 2010. Enormous debris accumulated at the plunge pool, reducing the height of the waterfall. The trail was closed during the time of the slide. The waterfall at the Drift creek looks the most spectacular during the early spring.

Picture 2 - Drift Creek Falls Picture

The suspension bridge makes one wonder why it was constructed at such a remote place with a tremendous cost, but the view while crossing the bridge and on the other side of the gorge justifies it all. On the other side of the bridge is a picnic table over-looking the creek and the waterfall. As you descend from this spot, you can get a spectacular view of the waterfall from the creek-side terminus. The exquisite views makes one longing for more and once you have soaked yourself, you can trace back to the trial head.

Routine can wear people down. When our heart gets weary, no one can soothe our soul like Nature. Drift Creek Falls is exactly a place where you can feel the nature so close and take a quick break from your routine. The short trail is an easy hike for all the nature lovers who would like to venture out into the forest without much effort of a hectic hike.