Toketee Falls Re-Opens

Toketee Falls

For nearly two years the Toketee Falls trail has been closed due to severe blow down caused by powerful winter storms. As of May 28^th of 2010 Toketee Falls is now open to the public. I recently was able to see the falls for the first time myself, and let me tell you these falls are stunning.

The trailhead to Toketee Falls can be found off of Highway #138 23 miles West of Diamond Lake or 41 miles East of Glide Oregon. There is room for about a dozen cars here and yes there is a couple of pit toilet style bathrooms.

The trail to the falls is a mere.4 miles and is very enjoyable hiking along the creek. What is noteworthy about the trail is the nice stone stairs that are built into the ground in spots and the many well constructed wood stairs that assist you in getting to the final viewing platform. These steps that I speak of are almost a work of art as you take different elevations of steps and sturdy black metal handrails, and the way they are situated along sheer basalt cliffs in places. The really cool part is the final viewing platform sits amongst the trees and gives the feeling you are in a tree house.

As for the falls they are definitely in my top 5 of the most beautiful falls I’ve seen. This is a two-stage waterfall dropping 120 feet into an opal pool and surrounded by sheer basalt walls and dense forest; the only drawback for photography is there is only one composition here unless you bring rappelling gear. That is why almost every photo you see from this location is relatively the same. I highly recommend a trip to this area. If you are new to Southern Oregon you will be in for quite a treat if you start in Roseburg and work your way towards Crater Lake. There are 25 waterfalls to photograph along the Umpqua Highway some of the falls you will encounter are: Fall Creek, Watson, Susan creek, Whitehorse, Grotto, wolf Creek ect..