Watson Falls

Watson Falls can be found along Fish Creek Road #37, just over 2 miles east of Toketee Falls and Lake, itself about 43 miles east of Glide or 16 miles west of Diamond Lake. The parking area is about 500 feet south of Highway 138 on the right side. The trail crosses Road 37 and climbs easily but steadily up to the base of the falls in about 1/3 mile.Watson Falls is the tallest waterfall in the North Umpqua River basin and is often recognized as one of the tallest waterfalls in Oregon. While the latter fact is not entirely correct, it is certainly among the most notable waterfalls in southern Oregon. The falls hurtle a sheer 293 feet over a massive cathedral-like amphitheater wall of basalt, crashing into a long talus slope covered in moss and vine maple. The falls plunge over enough of an overhang that occasional gusts of wind can toss the water sideways or upwards in rare cases (usually later in the summer when there is less water in the creek). The falls are often cited as dropping 272 feet and given the status the 3rd tallest waterfall in Oregon. We measured the falls in 2009 to stand 302 feet tall, but our methods have a margin of error of up to about 15-20 feet. This outcome however sparked the interest of personnel in the Umpqua National Forest, and they sent an additional survey team out to more accurately measure the falls and came up with a figure of 292.7 feet - so our measurement was only off by 9 feet (which isn't bad at all). This revised number won't give Watson Falls the distinction of being one of Oregon's few three-hundred foot waterfalls, but that doesn't mean its any less impressive of a waterfall. As to the claim of 3rd tallest, there are at least a dozen waterfalls in Oregon which have been confirmed to have, or are reasonably thought to have, a drop of more than 300 feet. Watson Falls however very likely may have the 3rd tallest free-falling drop in the state, after Multnomah Falls and Mist Falls in the Columbia River Gorge. Watson Creek drains from a basin covering approximately 8.8 square miles, almost the entirety of which occurs above 3,400 feet above sea level. The basin receives significant winter snow pack, and as a result the volume of water present in the creek can swell considerably during the spring and early summer months. By late summer and early autumn, the flow is typically reduced considerably but the stream is not known to dry out. The flow may be reduced to low enough levels late in the year however to cause the falls to dissipate in the wind during its descent.The origin of the name of the creek is unknown. Watson Mountain in the Glide area was named for a James Watson, who settled on the banks of Fall Creek near Glide in 1854. The name may have been carried over for the same individual. Watson Falls was likely named for the creek.