Ki-A-Kuts Falls Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Maple Creek Road Trailhead
- End Point: Ki-a-Kuts Falls and Tualatin River-Maple Creek Confluence
- Hike Type: In and out
- Distance: 2.8 miles
- Elevation gain: 580 feet
- High Point: 1560 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Seasons: All year
- Family Friendly: Yes, for older kids
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Description
Ki-a-Kuts Falls, on the Tualatin River only about 1 ½ miles from its source, was only “discovered” in 1993 by a team of Tualatin Riverkeepers as part of their efforts to track the river’s entire course. By the end of the 1990s, the USGS had agreed to give the falls a name, that of the last chief of the Atfalati Kalapuyans. It is quite likely that loggers and hunters knew of these falls before 1993, but they had never been properly documented until then. Note that the roads in this area are active logging roads, and there is no established trail to the falls. However, this is an excellent weekend excursion for families whose kids like to "get dirty." The description below includes an extension of the hike to visit the Tualatin River-Maple Creek Confluence.
From the pullout, follow the new extension of Maple Creek Road for about 80 yards, and find the old alignment of the road leading off into the woods on your right. The faint footpath crosses a creek and follows the road on a mossy tread through salal and sword fern under a canopy of Douglas-firs and red alders. Before the road curves to the left, look for a user trail that leads down and out to a basalt promontory above Ki-a-Kuts Falls. You can see the upper Tualatin River from here, but you can only hear the falls themselves. It’s possible to scramble down to the falls from the promontory, but it’s easier to go back to the road bed.
Continue a few more yards to where a slide has taken out the road. Take the path across the slide and, before heading up to the road again, find an established elk track down through the sword fern and Oregon grape to the Tualatin River. Once there, make your way upstream, negotiating the steep bank and log jams to get a head on view of Ki-a-Kuts Falls, where it plunges 40 feet between moss-covered faces of columnar basalt. Look for the dippers that nest near the top of the falls. Alternatively, you can find a way to cross the stream and view the falls from the other bank. Doing this, you will cross a tributary stream which has its own slender waterfall.
To extend the outing, return to the road bed and continue walking until you reach an old logging landing. It’s possible to follow a track to the left that makes a level traverse to upper Maple Creek. It’s easier to take a track leading down to the right. This trail drops below a ridge (Don’t take the trail on the ridge) and then merges with an old cat road that leads to the alder-shaded Tualatin River-Maple Creek Confluence, a peaceful spot for a contemplative lunch break.
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Active logging in the area. Be aware of road closures and logging operations. Travel these roads on weekends.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Ki-A-Kuts Falls Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Ki-A-Kuts Falls Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- 50 Hikes in the Tillamook State Forest by the Tillamook State Forest Committee, Columbia Group Sierra Club
More Links
- Discovering Ki-a-Kuts Falls (Grant’s Getaways)
- “Hiking the lost falls of the Tualatin River” (OregonLive)
- “An unexpected river runs through western Washington County” (OregonLive)
- Ki-a-Kuts Falls (Wikipedia)
- Ki-a-Kuts Falls (Northwest Waterfalls Survey)
Page Contributors
- bobcat (creator)