Little Falls

Take Highway 26 to the small town of Elsie, then turn south onto Lower Nehalem Road, following signs pointing to Spruce Run Campground. In just over 6 miles, the road and river make a sharp bend to the right (this is a little less than a mile south of the Spruce Run Campground); the falls are just upstream from this point.Little Falls is a small, entirely forgettable set of rapids along the Nehalem River near the popular Spruce Run Campground. Because the Nehalem River moves a considerable volume of water at this point in its course, the bedrock formation which creates the falls is almost an afterthought in the broad sense. The river here drops about 6 feet in a run of maybe 50-60 linear feet, and across a stretch of river over 240 feet wide. Nearest the adjacent road the rapids are almost indiscernible, but on the far side the ledge is more pronounced and does take on enough of a characteristic of a true waterfall to keep this entry from being disqualified. Unfortunately signs posted along the road where the falls are visible suggest the waterfall is actually on private property (and barbed wire fencing reinforces this), so scrambling down to the riverbed (when lower flows allow it) for better views is not advisable.