Upper Elk Creek Falls

Located near Alleghany, on the Millicoma Tree Farm. From downtown Coos Bay, follow Highway 101 south to the signed turn for Eastside and the Coos River. Follow this road for about 15, one mile past the town of Alleghany, to a funny intersection. The main road, leading to Golden and Silver Falls State Park goes left, another road takes a hard right, and immediately, a third road goes off left, paralleling the road leading to Golden and Silver Falls. Take this road, marked for Weyerhaeuser's Millicoma Tree Farm. Follow the Weyerhaeuser Road, #100, for 9.5 miles to a major junction. Turn right, and proceed another 1.6 miles. Turn right here (I think it was road # 500), follow what looks like the main road for another 2.8 miles to a fork. Turn left, and go another 9/10 mile to the falls, which can be seen to the right of the road. To reach the base of the falls, backtrack about 500 feet down the road, to where access to the creek is possible, and bushwhack upstream.This is the upper of two large waterfalls on the headwaters of Elk Creek. Located on Weyerhaeuser's Millicoma Tree Farm, this waterfall is one of the few in the area which doesn't appear to be terribly impacted by the clear cutting. The creek flows under the road, then veils down a domed cliff, skipping down more jagged rocks towards the bottom. About 1/2 of the falls can be easily seen from the road, but to see the entire falls, a short bushwhack is necessary. Since it was raining at the time I visited the falls, I didn't try to reach the base of the falls. I suspect that Elk Creek may run dry, or very close to dry late in the summer, so the falls' rating should be adjusted accordingly depending on the volume. This waterfall lies on Weyerhaeuser's Millicoma Tree Farm. As of 2014 Weyerhaeuser now requires an annual recreation permit for public access to this area. They only make approximately 1200 permits available each year, at a cost of $350 each, and are specific to the Millicoma Tree Farm, so it won't be transferable for other Weyerhaeuser properties elsewhere in Oregon.