Stafford Falls

Stafford Falls is perhaps the best waterfall in the Wilson River drainage. Surprisingly, this presumably not officially named, little-known yet remarkably easy to access waterfall has received very little publication considering its tantalizing visibility from Highway 6. Here and unnamed stream plunges about 70 feet over a basalt wall before splitting into two streams and plunging side-by-side 30 feet further before merging with the Devils Lake Fork. As of March 2006, it appears a trail is being constructed to a viewpoint in between the two tiers of the falls, but aside from that, viewing the falls clearly requires a short scramble and a ford of the Devils Lake Fork of the Wilson River - which can be extremely dangerous in high water. Word through the grapevine on this trail is that it's a guerilla effort not sanctioned by the Oregon Department of Forestry and it may be destroyed before completion. There also appears to be a third section to the falls a short distance upstream, but whether it can be considered part of this waterfall is in question (it might not even be accessible).The falls are not known to have been named in the past, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had been named at some point or another, considering the storied past of the area. The Tillamook State Forest has the falls labeled on some maps, so they at least publicly recognize the existence of the falls. Oregon waterfall hunter Tom Kloster has proposed the falls be named for poet laureate of Oregon and conservationist William Stafford.