Moon Falls

Exit Interstate 5 at Cottage Grove (Exit 174) and drive east on Row River Road for approximately 19-1/2 miles to the junction of Brice Creek Road # 22 and Layng Creek Road # 17, and turn left onto Layng Creek Road. Follow Road # 17 for 9 miles to a junction and bear right with the main road. Drive for one-quarter mile, passing the Spirit Falls trailhead, and turn left onto Road 1702. Follow this route for another 2-3/4 miles and turn right onto Road 1702-728, which is signed for Moon Falls. Follow this road to it's end in another ½ mile (stay left at the junction near the end). From here, follow the oddly muddy trail for half of a mile to the base of the falls.Moon Falls is presumably the largest waterfall in the Layng Creek watershed, veiling approximately 190 feet over a sharp wall of jagged basalt - a start contrast to the smoothy rounded cliff at its downstream sibling Spirit Falls. When viewed from below Moon Falls is subjected to significant foreshortening due to the slightly less than vertical pitch and close proximity of the end of the trail to the falls, appearing at first glance to stand perhaps only half of its actual height (which has been confirmed by Lidar data). Though Alex Creek is quite small at this point along its length, the amount of water present at the falls is not done justice by photographs. The falls will revert to just a trickle of water by the late summer months, but typically retains a healthy flow into early July. Alex Creek is a tributary of Layng Creek, the municipal water supply for the city of Cottage Grove. Please respect and protect the water supply by adhering to the no camping and swimming regulations within the Layng Creek watershed.