Photo Credit:
Nathaniel Wise| IG: @nathanielwise | Original Post: March 18, 2019
At a Glance:
| Location: | Santiam State Forest Scotts Mills, Oregon, USA |
| Trail or Landmark Name / Map: | Abiqua Falls |
| Parking Coordinates: | 44.9310172,-122.5698955 (street shoulder) |
| Photo Coordinates: | 44.9265111,-122.5667521 |
| Distance: | 5.3 miles round trip, Out-and-Back (1.1 miles if you drive a car that can make it all way down to the trailhead) |
| Time to Complete: | 0-2 hours |
| Difficulty: | Hard |
| Elevation Gain: | 1,397 ft |
| Quick Facts: | ✔ Free ✖ Kid Friendly ✖ Dog Friendly (permitted, but difficult) ✖ Bike Friendly ✖ Restrooms Available ✖ Wheelchair Accessible |
Description:
The photographer posted this photo on March 18, 2019.
Finding the parking for this trailhead can be quite tricky. You can cut miles off your hike the closer you park to the trailhead, but you’ll need a 4WD vehicle to get all the way down, and even then you may not be able to if it has recently rained, as there are many hidden, muddy potholes. Most of the “5.3 mile” hike will just be walking along the road to the trailhead, and will take about 2 hours total. However, if you can drive all the way down to the trailhead, your hike will only be about 1.1 miles and could take you less than an hour.
Map to Abiqua Falls Trailhead to get a rough destination point, but follow the written directions below to get to the trailhead, as Google Maps is inaccurate here. You will lose service, so ensure you have a way to access offline maps. I would highly recommend reading the description and some of the reviews on AllTrails, as many users provide more specific details about getting there and finding your way through the trail. This was the best description I could find:
If you are coming from the town of Scott’s Mill, continue southeast on Crooked Finger Rd. You will pass Camp Dakota on the right. Continue about 1 mile further, and Crooked Finger Rd turns into a dirt/gravel road. Once the road turns into gravel, continue another mile and a half and you will see a sign with a trail map and instructions for off-road vehicles at a junction in the road. After you have gone this far, you will notice large open areas that have been logged. If you continue straight, you will come to a large, white gate. The signs around the gate say Weyerhauser, this is NOT where you want to be. Instead, at the road junction and trail map sign turn RIGHT and stay on that road. Don’t park at the first turn out that you see, otherwise you will be walking about 2.5 miles to the trail entrance. Not so bad going down the mountain, but coming back to your car it’s all uphill. Depending on what kind of car you have will depend on how far down the road you can travel. I wouldn’t recommend going further than half way down if you don’t have 4 wheel drive, especially if it’s rained recently. There are just too many large mud holes to get stuck in. There is another metal, white gate at the very end of this road, the trail entrance is about 100 yards from the gate on the left side of the road.
Review by AllTrails.com user Mac Garrison
There are also some good driving directions here.
The trailhead starts on the left side where you’ll see a white sign that says “Abbey Foundation of Oregon.” Then you should see a big black and white sign explaining that this is private land and to play it safe. From there, AllTrails states:
Shortly after that sign, the trail will seem to split. One path has a fallen tree crossing the trail. The other path, to your right, looks well-traveled. STAY TO YOUR LEFT. WALK OVER THE FALLEN TREE. Shortly after you cross over the log you will see an identical black and white sign. You’ll also see a long knotted rope anchored to the base of a small tree. This is the trail you want to be on.
Further down the correct trail, you’ll get to a point where two large trees have fallen down parallel to one another, leading straight down to the river’s edge. There is a rope which leads down the entire length of these logs. This is the easiest way down to the valley floor.
AllTrails.com Trail Description
The trail is very muddy all the way through and poorly marked. It would be difficult for kids and dogs.
Helpful Links:
Trail Map
Trailhead Parking Directions
Additional Trail Information
Trail Reviews on AllTrails.com
Additional Images:
