Soda Creek Falls

Soda Creek Falls are accessed from the Green Lakes trailhead along the Cascade Lakes Highway west of Bend. Exit Highway 97 in downtown Bend at Franklin Street and turn west (signed for Mount Bachelor and the Cascade Lakes Loop). Franklin becomes Broadway as it parallels the Deschutes River, then crosses the river and becomes Galveston. Turn left on SW Century Drive which becomes the Cascade Lakes Highway. After 26 miles the Green Lakes / Soda Creek trailhead will be found on the right side of the highway. Hike the Soda Creek Trail for 2 1/2 miles to a sharp switchback above Soda Creek where the falls can be seen below the trail.Soda Creek Falls was first extolled in the third edition of Greg Plumb's "Waterfall Lover's Guide to the Pacific Northwest" due to the falls being marked on the USGS topographic map covering this part of the state. Plumb suggested the falls stood 25-40 feet tall in all, so hopes were raised that this would be a nice little fall. Turns out Soda Creek Falls barely qualifies as a waterfall at all. The falls (the term is used liberally here) drop 15 feet total in two steps as Soda Creek wraps around a rock buttress. Soda Creek is largely spring fed and though it flows year round, when the seasonal snow pack has melted off the volume of the stream drops enough that the falls are significantly reduced in stature. It should also be noted that Plumb's book notes "Soda Springs Falls" as occurring about 300 feet downstream of this feature, streaming into Soda Creek on the opposite side of the valley. While the waters of Soda Springs can be seen cascading down the hillside, there is no waterfall found at that location.