Grotto Falls

From Roseburg follow OR-138 east to the small town of Glide, then head south on the well signed Little River Road. Follow the Little River Road for 16 miles to signed Road #2703, and turn left and continue for another for 4.4 miles to Road #2703-150 (signed for Grotto Falls), and turn left again and follow for another 2.2 miles to the trailhead just beyond the concrete bridge over Emile Creek (note - there is no sign with "Grotto Falls" labeled, but there is a trailhead sign). Follow the easy trail up a few switchbacks to the falls in 1/3 mile.Grotto Falls is one of the most prominent waterfalls found within the Little River drainage outside of the town of Glide, and may be the tallest of around a dozen notable waterfalls in the Emile Creek basin itself. Grotto is the final of at least six prominent falls along the unnamed branch of Emile Creek which originates in Willow Flats on the divide between the Little and North Umpqua River valleys. The falls drop a sheer 78 feet over a cathedral-like undercut cliff which forms a nearly 180-degree headwall to the alcove occupied by the stream. During periods of high flow, the stream spills through the notch in the cliff in a fairly uniform way, achieving a maximum breadth of about 25 feet across, but during periods of normal or low flow, the creek splits into two distinct channels which plunge side-by-side into the canyon. Despite being a major tributary to Emile Creek (potentially larger than the main branch itself), the stream forming this waterfall doesn't ever appear to have been officially named. The stream drains a basin which covers approximately 2-1/2 square miles in area. There are two significant areas of marsh or swamp in the basin which help to regulate the flow of the stream through the drier months of the year, and while the stream does exhibit a significant variance in flow from spring to fall, it isn't known to dry out.Grotto Falls was named for the deeply undercut cliffs and the dark recess where the falls are located. Emile Creek was named for Emile Shivigny, a French settler who homesteaded in the area in 1875.