Upper Kentucky Falls

There are multiple routes to the Kentucky Falls trailhead depending on the direction you come from; we will be describing the two most direct and most likely to be utilized. If approaching from the south, take Highway 101 to Reedsport and continue north out of town on Highway 101 across the Smith River bridge, then turn right onto Lower Smith River Road. Continue on Smith River Road for 11 miles, then immediately before a bridge across the North Fork Smith River, turn left onto Road 48. Now on Road 48 (both a county an Forest Service road), continue for just over 10-1/2 miles to the junction with Forest Service Road 23, where a sign will be seen pointing to Kentucky Falls. If approaching from the north, take Highway 36 to the town of Mapleton, then head east on Highway 126. Immediately after crossing the Umpqua river, turn right onto Sweet Creek Road, which eventually becomes Forest Service Road 48. Continue for 14.3 miles to where the pavement ends at the Goodwin summit, and then proceed another 6.2 winding miles down the hill to the same junction with Forest Service Road 23 described above. From either direction, now along Forest Service Road 23, follow Road 23 (which is paved) for another 12.4 miles to the Kentucky Falls trailhead - there are several signs marking the Kentucky Falls Natural Area before the trailhead to allow you to anticipate it. The trail begins across the road from the parking area. The first three-quarters of a mile are easy and level, leading to the top of Upper Kentucky Falls. The descent to the base of the falls is a bit more strenuous and features some sections of trail blasted into the side of an unguarded cliff (keep an eye on children here); the base of the falls being encountered a mile from the trailhead.The Kentucky Falls Natural Area contains three of the best waterfalls in Oregon's Coast Range, all accessible via the same well graded trail system. Upper Kentucky Falls is the first of the three encountered as the trail descends the canyon. The falls occur where the creek makes a sharp "S" bend through a narrow gap and falls 88 feet in two steps - first a cascading step of about 18 feet, followed by a 69-foot tall free-fall in which the creek is split into two or three distinct channels by the grooves in the bedrock (during moderate or low flow periods at least) that spray into a small pool at the base of the falls. During high water, all nuance and character is essentially swallowed up by the falls as it becomes a solid wall of water that stretches as much as 50 feet in width. About 300 feet downstream from the base of the falls is a second waterfall which hikers can easily look down on from above, but no clear views are afforded from the trail (bushwhacking down into the brushy canyon should yield a better view, but the descent is steep and walking in the creek may be necessary). The lower falls first slide down a ramp, and then terminate in a wide free-fall of perhaps 20 feet, with the total drop being somewhere in the 50 foot range.