Sevenmile Creek Falls

Located along the Santiam Highway, west of Detroit Lake. From I-5 in Salem, follow Highway 22 east for about 36 ½ miles - 4 miles east of the town of Gates, or 10 miles west of Detroit - to obscurely signed Niagara County Park, located on the right side of the road. Park and follow the staircase down to the rocky formations in the river, with the falls directly opposite the viewpoint.Sevenmile Creek drains into the North Santiam River near the former site of the town of Niagara. The town was established in 1889 because of the suggested potential for power generation where the North Santiam squeezes through a narrow gorge - allegedly 5 feet wide at its narrowest - but the site folded after maintenance of the small dam became a major issue. Sevenmile Creek Falls slides about 25 feet into the Santiam just downstream from the constriction in the gorge. The falls are pretty, but the real attraction is the gorge. Neither is worth spending much time at, but if you are in need of a quick pit stop, this makes a nice 10 minute leg-stretch.The falls are not thought to have ever been officially named. Niagara was named for the constriction in the gorge on the river. I imagine that when the river is in flood stage, there may be a modest waterfall as it emerges from the gorge - which gave the site its name.