Vicinity Location:
About 117 miles southeast of Portland, OR in the Deschutes National Forest.
Directions:
This is not Tumalo State Park nor is it Tumalo, OR.
From Portland, drive towards Bend, Oregon on the route of your choosing, passing through either Sisters or Redmond. Just north of Bend you need to get onto Highway 20. If you’re driving on Hwy 97, take Exit 135A for Highway 20.
Take the exit for NE Empire Avenue, drive .3 mile and turn left onto O.B. Riley Rd. and drive about 500 feet.
Turn right onto Archie Briggs Rd and drive 1.5 miles.
Turn onto Northwest Mount Washington Drive and drive 2.1 miles, going straight at the next two traffic circles, staying on Northwest Mount Washington Drive.
At the third traffic circle, take the first right onto Skyliners Rd and follow it for 8.7 miles as it turns into FR4601.
Make a slight right onto Tumalo Falls Rd and in about 500 feet the pavement ends at the bridge over the creek.
Cross over the creek and the last 2.3 miles is a dusty gravel road to a small-ish parking lot.
Note: The parking lot gets full early on weekends and later parked cars can line the roadway for some distance. This trailhead is closed to cars during the winter.
There are bathrooms at the trailhead.
A Northwest Forest Permit is needed to park.
Length and Elevation:
Distance is 1.0 miles roundtrip. Trailhead elevation is 4,960 ft. Highest point is 5,100 feet in elevation. Lowest point is 4,960 feet in elevation. Elevation gain is 200 feet and elevation loss is 200 feet.
There are no geocaches along this trail.
Trail:
North Fork Trail with connections to multiple trails.
Trail Maps:
Topo Map, Download Garmin .gpx file
Review: 5/28/2017
It is an easy walk from the parking lo the first viewpoint of the falls. The view overlooks the creek and straight at the falls. Next, meander up the trail through the light tree cover up to a platform that looks towards the falls. From there is is a short, level walk to the platform that is perched at the edge of the 97 foot tall waterfall.
As you hike upstream from Tumalo Falls you’ll encounter several smaller waterfalls along the forested trail. There are a couple of places where you can walk down to the stream for nice views.
After about 1/2 mile from the falls, pick a good place to turn around and head back, or bring a map to make this a longer hike.
Tumalo Falls is a classic Oregon waterfall and worth a visit. The trail is good for children that will stay on the trail as there are cliffs not far off the trail. Dogs are allowed but are to be leashed.
Enjoy the photos!!
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