Beaver Falls Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Beaver Falls Trailhead
- End point: Beaver Falls
- Trail log:
- Hike Type: In and out
- Distance: 0.7 miles
- Elevation gain: 100 feet
- High Point: 270 feet
- Difficulty: Easy
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
The Beaver Falls Trail is one of these rare spots for an outing in Columbia County. On the way, you can also visit Upper Beaver Falls, not spectacular, but a very pretty roadside attraction. The trail to the amphitheater of Beaver Falls itself has been recently worked on and signed and presents a short but rewarding excursion, especially for families with young children.
At the trailhead, not the old sign – BFTH painted in red on a post. Switchback down twice under Douglas-fir, western red-cedar, western hemlock, and big-leaf maple in an understory dominated by sword fern, Oregon grape, and salal. After the initial switchbacks, the trail undulates along the slope, passing through a trash dump before a rock face. Soon pass a “watch Out for Poison Oak” sign and hike up through a rocky defile before dropping gradually to the cobbled shoreline at the plunge pool for Beaver Falls.
The falls spill over an overhang in a wide basalt amphitheater with some well-defined hexagonal columns on the right side. You can scramble around to the left to get behind the falls but take care – the rocks are very slippery. The best viewing is obviously in the middle of the rainy season (usually December through April) when the Coast Range receives copious and regular downpours.
This area, as was most of Columbia County, was heavily logged beginning in the 19th century. Beaver Creek was used as a conduit for floating logs down to the Columbia and a small dam was built to contain the log raft above the falls. The dam was then broken and the ensuing flood pushed the logs over the falls and downstream.
Note: A new chain link fence has been put up on the road to prevent people from scrambling down directly to the falls. Please use the trail instead; it is much safer and well-graded to prevent erosion.
Maps
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- none
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Beaver Falls Hike
- The Kink in the Columbia (A few walks)
- Beaver Falls Trail
- Waterfall trip from Astoria to Portland on hwy 30 2/16
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Beaver Falls Hike
- Historic Images of Beaver Falls
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- none
More Links
- Beaver Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)
- Upper Beaver Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)
- Beaver Falls Splash Dam (VanNatta Logging History)
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)