Steamboat Falls

Drive east from Roseburg along Highway 138 for 38.5 miles to the signed Steamboat Creek Road # 38 and turn left. Follow Road 38 for 5.3 miles, and turn right onto Road # 3810, signed for Steamboat Falls and campground. Follow this road for .6 mile to the campground, and enter. Park around site number 5. The falls are visible from the fenced overlook a mere 50 feet from the parking area. I found a party camped right next to the falls, so be wary that the viewpoint might intrude on someone's camp.Steamboat Creek curtains over a wide bench into a calm pool. In the winter the 20 foot falls are rather impressive thanks to the large drainage basin of Steamboat Creek, but the low elevation limits the high flow to only the wettest months, and by May the falls are a shadow of their former self. This would be a slightly more impressive attraction in the summer if a fish ladder, which draws off a majority of the creek, weren't constructed next to the falls. All around the falls are exposed rock slabs, which are very popular for cliff jumping and sunbathing. However, people seem to easily become unaware of the dangers of waterfalls. I witnessed several people fording the creek immediately above the brink of the falls, a fall from which could be fatal. If you feel the need to explore the streambed above the falls, please cross the creek well above the falls.The name of Steamboat Creek stems from a phrase from the heyday of mining in the area. When a mine was spent or a claim turned out to have been less productive than expected, one was "steamboated". The falls were presumably named after the creek.