Drift Creek Falls

Drift Creek Falls is found east of Lincoln City in the central Oregon Coast Range. There are two options for reaching the falls; Option 1 - from the intersection of Highways 101 and 18 near the town of Otis, follow Highway 18 east for 3 1/2 miles to Bear Creek Road. Follow Bear Creek Road, which turns into FSR 18, for 9 miles to the trailhead. Option 2 - Turn off of Highway 101 onto Drift Creek Road, located about a mile south of Lincoln City (if you cross the Siletz River you've gone too far) and follow Drift Creek Road for 10 miles to the trailhead. In both cases, follow signs for either Drift Creek Falls or Drift Creek Trail (same thing). From the Lincoln City side the road is paved all the way, so when in doubt, follow the pavement. From the Highway 18 side, there is a short stretch of gravel then it resumes pavement. The falls are an easy 1 1/2 mile hike from the trailhead.Drift Creek Falls isn't a huge waterfall but it is pretty and can be fairly impressive during certain periods of the year. The unofficially named North Fork of Drift Creek flumes through a short bedrock sluice then plunges 66 feet over the side of a gorge wall into the Drift Creek proper. The Forest Service constructed a very leisurely trail to the falls in the 90s, which features a 250 foot long suspension bridge crossing Drift Creek adjacent to the falls that provides easy access to the opposite side of the gorge and the base of the falls. In August of 2010, a huge chunk of the Drift Creek Falls cliff cleaved off and fell into the canyon below, drastically altering the appearance of the falls. It's possible that the height of the falls has also changed, given the amount of debris which now lines the streambed below.