Upper Coquille River Falls

Upper Coquille River Falls is found off the Rogue-Coquille Scenic Byway south of the town of Powers. Starting in the city of Coos Bay, follow Highway 101 south to Highway 42 and head east for 21 miles through the town of Myrtle Point, then turn south onto the Powers Highway (route 542) after crossing the Middle Fork Coquille River (the sign points to Powers); the Powers highway becomes the Rogue-Coquille Scenic Byway (NFR 33) after passing through the town. Continue for another 38 miles from the turn off at Highway 42, and then bear right onto National Forest Road 3348 where a sign points toward Eden Valley and Sru Lake. Continue along Road 3348 for another 3-1/2 miles. A small turnout on the left (river) side of the road, and a tall seasonal waterfall on the right side of the road marks the location of the steep trail that drops down to clear views of the falls - ropes are in place for hand holds for much of the descent.Upper Coquille River Falls marks the beginning of the descent of the South Fork Coquille River through what is affectionately known as Cataract Canyon. The falls plunge a sheer 37 feet over an undercut cliff into a huge pool (great for swimming in the summer), and then continues rumbling downstream through an increasingly rugged canyon where the river loses another 800 feet in elevation in the mile down to the top of Coquille River Falls (though no other waterfalls are found along the river in that stretch). Below the pool at the base of the falls the river flows across shelves of bedrock which are pockmarked with large potholes, some of which are remarkably deep (and potentially very dangerous). Adjacent to Road 3348 near the top of the falls a tributary stream can be seen plunging over its own waterfall of about 100 feet which we informally refer to as Cataract Canyon Falls. We opted to not create an entry for this waterfall because it exhibits highly seasonal behavior and was just a trickle when we last visited in May of 2016, but it can be quite pretty in the winter months.