Here are some photos from the trip, starting with a couple of Upper Beaver Creek Falls, which is located upstream from the main falls, and right along the bypassed section of Highway 30 that is now called Beaver Falls Road -- this is the upper of two tiers of Upper Beaver Creek Falls:
...and this is the lower, main tier -- a pleasant 10-foot drop:
The hike is short, so take some time to poke around along the old highway on your way -- some very pretty section of Beaver Creek here:
The trail to the falls begins at a very large turnout, with the trailhead at the east end (where the trailhead signs have been removed, perhaps because of the slide?). The short trail makes two quick switchbacks before traversing gently upstream toward the falls. Just 3/4 mile and you're there. The falls occupies a large amphitheater, and during the wet winter season, there's an added bonus of a side tributary dropping 100+ feet over the cliff face adjacent to the falls:
There's a ton of history here from the logging era of the late 1800s and early 1900s, though Mother Nature is doing her best to hide the evidence. These photos from the early 1900s show that a logging splash dam was once used to create a log pond immediately above Beaver Falls. These ponds were abruptly released with the idea of sending the logs downstream to a waiting mill (or to be rafted to a mill on the Columbia) via a biblical flood. The resulting damage to the environment is sort of stunning, but that wasn't a prime concern back in the day (nor does it continue to be with the private timber plantations that surround this little county park, BTW...
)
This hike is just an hour from Portland and makes for a nice afternoon walk. The scene is a bit bleak this time of year, but should be brilliantly green when the large stands of bigleaf maple leaf out in April.
Tom
