Sports
B1
Appeal Tribune, www.silvertonappeal.com
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
STATESMAN JOURNAL FILE
Yellowbottom Recreation Site in the Quartzville Corridor stretches between Sweet Home and Marion Forks in the western foothills of the Cascades.
SCENIC
SPOTS
TO SWIM
ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
“Canyon Pool” is a swimming hole between canyon walls on Breitenbush River off Highway 46
about six miles northeast of Detroit.
ZACH URNESS
ming spot.
Canyon Pool: A deep and beautiful
pool between mossy canyon walls. You
must follow a steep trail down to the riv-
er, and the pool has some current, so this
one isn’t for kiddos. It’s 6 miles up Road
46 at a pullout on the right.
Weathers said there are nice swim-
ming holes upstream, on the North Fork
Breitenbush around milepost 14 off Road
46.
STATESMAN JOURNAL
There’s nothing that quite compares
with the perfect swimming hole.
Lakes and reservoirs are fine, but
they don’t capture the thrill, beauty and
intimacy of that clear pool of water on a
river or creek.
To swim within a narrow canyon, be-
low a waterfall or within the shade of
overhanging trees on 90-degree days of-
fers one of Oregon’s best experiences.
Problem is, many swimming holes
draw a crowd. In the Little North San-
tiam canyon, crowds at Three Pools,
Salmon Falls, North Fork Park and the
Opal Creek Wilderness have become so
thick that it’s difficult to enjoy visiting
(or even finding a parking spot).
“The crowds put a tremendous
amount of pressure on this fragile, natu-
ral environment,” said Josh Weathers,
developed recreation manager for Wil-
lamette National Forest. “There are
thousands of other places in Oregon that
offer many of the same benefits as Opal
Creek; you just have to look.”
But there are less-crowded swim-
ming holes. Many are in areas that also
offer great camping.
Included below are 13 places that you
can find swimming holes without elbow-
to-elbow crowds. All it takes is a little bit
of searching.
Niagara County Park
The North Santiam River doesn’t fea-
ture a ton of great swimming holes, but
one exception is this county park on the
side of Highway 22, just below Big Cliff
Dam.
While the park’s western end is too
dangerous for swimming — and it’s not
allowed, anyway — the east end has one
very nice pool and a good jumping rock.
Follow the park’s road, or hike the short
trail, to the upstream end of the park to
find the spot.
Directions: Take Highway 22 east and
turn right at a sign for Niagara County
Park.
Blowout Creek
A unique swimming spot on Detroit
Lake and more classic swimming holes
highlight this little-explored creek.
Blowout Creek flows into the reser-
voir on the reservoir’s less-populated
south side. From a parking area, a trail
leads a quarter mile to the Blowout
ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
A swimming hole is found on the Middle
Santiam River near Shed Creek on the border
of the Middle Santiam Wilderness.
Creek arm and a funky suspension
bridge. Below the bridge, and between
narrow cliffs, is deep water and great
jumping rocks that create a unique place
for swimming. The trail down to the
rocks is quite sketchy, so this spot is not
recommended for children.
(Jumping off the suspension bridge
also is not recommended).
For more classic swimming holes,
Weathers said following Forest Service
Road 10 along the creek will lead you past
a few.
Directions: From Detroit, follow
Blowout Road/Road 10 for 10 miles (veer
right at a junction with Forest Service
Road 060). The trailhead is at a parking
area on the right. Continue on Road 10 up-
stream for the creek-side swimming
holes.
Breitenbush River
One of Oregon’s most beautiful riv-
ers, the Breitenbush, features the most
scenic swimming holes on this list.
The trick is finding them. This often
requires driving up Breitenbush Road 46
from Detroit and stopping at promising-
looking pullouts in the road. There are
plenty of people along the Breitenbush
on hot summer days but also plenty of
different swimming holes if you look
hard enough. Camping can be had at
Humbug, Cleator Bend and Breitenbush
campsites.
Here are two of my favorite spots to
get you started. In general, the farther
you get from Detroit, the better the
chances of solitude.
Beach Hole: Just 3 miles up Road 46 at
a large pullout on the left. Although
crowded on weekends, it’s a beautiful
spot with a sandy beach, shallow water
and deeper pools. A great family swim-
REACH US: Cliff Kirkpatrick, ckirkpatr@Salem.gannett.com
Whitewater And Marion Creeks
Weathers said that while they proba-
bly don’t have very deep holes, it’s worth
exploring Whitewater and Marion
creeks.
Whitewater Creek, east of Detroit,
has swimming holes just a few miles up
Forest Service Road 2243, he said. Mar-
ion Creek has swimming holes about 3 to
4 miles up Forest Service Road 2255,
Weathers said.
A bit of a drive from Salem, a trip to
Quartzville, a tributary of the South San-
tiam River northeast of Sweet Home, is
best experienced by camping. There are
numerous dispersed campsites along
Quartzville Recreation Corridor and
Back Country Byway along with regular
sites at Yellowbottom and Old Miner’s
Meadow Campground.
Directions: The Quartzville Corridor
begins near Marion Forks and ends near
Green Peter Reservoir near Sweet
Home.
River Bend County Park
River Bend County Park offers 85
campsites and family-friendly beach ac-
cess to swimming.
The new addition to the Linn County
Parks system is 90 aces and features
both trails and picnic areas.
Directions: From Sweet Home, follow
Highway 20 for 9 miles, and turn left at
signs.
Shed Creek Hole
Cascadia State Park
This swimming hole sits on the edge
of the Middle Santiam Wilderness, one of
the best old-growth hikes in the Central
Cascades. It’s a long and complicated
drive to reach the trailhead, and a 0.7-
mile hike to Shed Camp Shelter, a won-
derful camping spot. The swimming hole
is just below, where a waterfall trickles
into a deep pool surrounded by a steep,
circular canyon.
Directions: From Salem, follow I-5
south to exits for Lebanon and follow
Highway 20 to Sweet Home. From Sweet
Home, follow Highway 20 east for 25
miles, just past milepost 52, and turn left
onto gravel Soda Fork Road/Forest Ser-
vice Road 2041.
Carefully follow Forest Service Road
2041 for 7.8 miles to a major junction at
Cool Camp. Continue straight through
the junction to stay on Forest Service
Road 2041 for another 4.4 miles to a sec-
ond major junction.
Go straight on to Forest Service Road
646, marked by a small sign that says
“Chimney Peak Trail 1/2,” and follow it
0.6 miles to its end at the parking lot and
trailhead.
Quartzville Creek
There are so many beautiful swim-
ming holes on this creek, which is pro-
tected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act,
that it’s difficult to know where to start.
This beautiful campground sits amid
the mossy forest that highlights the
South Santiam River.
Two dozen campsites can be had here,
along with a collection of trails.
The swimming hole is great for fam-
ilies. There is a sandy beach and shallow
water, along with deeper holes.
A more solitude-filled cool down in-
volves following a 0.75-mile trail to Soda
Creek Falls.
Directions: From Sweet Home, follow
Highway 20 for 14 miles and turn left at
signs. Follow a short trail to the swim-
ming hole beach.
Trout Creek / Yukwah / House
Rock Campgrounds
These three small campgrounds are
close to each other along Highway 20 and
feature similar experiences.
Trout Creek, Yukwah and House Rock
have 23, 19 and 17 campsites, respective-
ly, along with day-use parking.
All three feature swimming holes
with rocky beaches and deeper pools
shaded by the lush, dense canyon forest
characteristic of the South Santiam.
Directions: From Sweet Home, follow
Highway 20 east for 21 miles to Trout
Creek, 22 miles to Yukwah and 27 miles
to Forest Service Road 2044 for House
Rock. All three are well-signed.