Pinard 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. Proceed another 3 3/4 miles, staying right at all major junctions, to the signed trailhead. The trail follows an old logging road, then bends hard to the left and descends, steeply in places, to an overlook across the canyon from the falls in 2/3 mile.Pinard Falls is, thus far, the most impressive waterfall accessible in the Row River drainage. The falls occur where the East Fork of Layng Creek is squeezed through a notch in the bedrock and shot into a deep gorge. Erosive action of the water has carved a narrow alcove that the waterfall twists into as it falls, allowing it to remain shaded for much of the day. This waterfall has been known - at least by locals - for quite some time, and the forest service had started construction on a trail to the falls as much as 20 years ago, but the trail was only officially completed in the spring of 2007. Its still a bit rough in places, but the falls are well worth the trouble involved.