Appeal Tribune
| WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2021 | 1B
OUTDOORS
SMALL WONDER
Lucy and Rollie Urness explore Cascadia State Park's Lower Soda Creek Falls Trail east of Sweet Home.
Discover under-the-radar waterfall
hike at Cascadia State Park
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
We were looking for something a lit-
tle different last week.
With the shutdown of most indoor
places for kids and the wildfire closure
of many trails in the Santiam Canyon,
we’ve been visiting Silver Falls State
Park an awful lot lately.
“Can we see some different water-
falls?” 6-year-old Lucy asked a few
weeks ago. Four-year-old Rollie agreed.
And so, to change it up, our crew
drove east of Sweet Home last week to
Cascadia State Park and Lower Soda
Creek Falls Trail.
I’ve been there in the past, but never
considered it a destination because the
hike is less than 1.5 miles round-trip.
Adults will be finished pretty quick.
But with kids it’s different.
Fascinated by every plant, tree, log,
bug, pool and piece of moss, we can eas-
ily turn 1.5 miles into a four- to five-hour
affair, as long as I don’t hustle them
along. Not only that, the campground
and rock beaches along the South San-
tiam River provide additional options
for exploration.
The waterfall itself was also prettier
than I remembered. Lower Soda Creek
Falls is a thin silver string of a waterfall
that drops 134 feet in multiple tiers. Af-
ter the winter rains, it gets a lot more im-
pressive and the pool where it drops is a
magic little place, surrounded by mossy
boulders and enveloped in mist.
It’s still a short hike be sure, but if
you’re tired of the same old adventures,
it makes a nice way to mix it up.
Blackberry bushes,
bridges and a booming falls
The best way to plan your trip to Cas-
cadia State Park (which is now being
managed by Linn County’s parks de-
partment) is to bring lots of snacks, ar-
rive in the parking lot and check out the
little map.
There’s a little trail that drops down
to the South Santiam River, a day-use
area with picnic tables and various
nooks to explore, if you want.
The Soda Creek Falls Trail starts just
up the road toward the campground.
The trail starts just off a road or from the
campground. Just look for a trail and
signs that say either “trail” or “no bicy-
cles.”
The pathway begins simply enough,
traveling through a forest filled with
blackberry bushes and overhanging
Douglas firs. Then it crosses a few
wooden bridges with fun spots along
the creek.
Just up the trail, a gigantic Douglas fir
cracked and came down, creating a
great place to climb up the trunk into
what the girls called their “nest” in the
trees. They spent around 45 minutes
pretending to be baby birds.
Beyond, the trail begins a slow but
steady climb into a canyon along bub-
bling Soda Creek. It gets a bit steeper
and at one point you have to climb a
Lucy and Rollie Urness explore Cascadia State Park’s Lower Soda Creek Falls Trail
east of Sweet Home. PHOTOS BY ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
muddy incline and then duck under
downed logs lying just above the trail.
It’s not too difficult, but you should be
aware of it for very young or elderly hik-
ers.
Soon, you’ll begin to hear and then
see Lower Soda Creek Falls. The trail
leads to a high point, with giant boul-
ders providing a fun overhead view of
the falls — and a good place to admire
how the falls drops in tiers of 49, 39 and
54 feet, according to Northwest Water-
fall Survey.
The most fun place is in a little grotto
at the base of the waterfall, where you
can feel the mist and get up close and
personal with the waterfall. It’s not the
easiest spot to reach with kids, requir-
ing crossing some slick rocks or drop-
ping down a very steep trail.
But, the charm of the little grotto is
hard to resist and we ended up spending
a long time examining the moss and eat-
ing snacks in the light spray of the falls.
I’m not sure we’d come and hike this
trail multiple times in a season, the way
we do at Silver Falls and McDowell
Creek Falls, but it makes a great change-
up — a way to refresh the waterfall pallet
with something just a little bit different.
See HIKE, Page 2B
Permit system for Three Sisters, Mount Jefferson to begin
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A long-planned permit system that
will limit the number of people allowed
to hike and camp in three of Oregon's
most popular wilderness will go into ef-
fect for the spring and summer of 2021,
the U.S. Forest Service announced
Thursday.
The permit system was set to begin in
2020 but was delayed by the COVID-19
pandemic.
The system will require all campers
and some day-hikers to get a special
permit before entering the Three Sis-
ters, Mount Jefferson and Mount Wash-
ington wilderness areas between May
28 and Sept. 24.
Coming on the heels of a years-long
process, the new system is aimed at re-
ducing crowds and impact across
450,000 acres of Oregon's most iconic
backcountry between the Willamette
Valley and Bend.
The first batch of permits will be
available to purchase on Recreation.gov
on April 6. The rest will become avail-
able on a rolling 7-day window designed
to allow for more spontaneous trips.
The cost is $1 for a day permit, which
will be required at 19 of the most popular
trailheads in the three wilderness areas.
Overnight permits will cost $6 but be re-
quired for every trailhead.
It is likely that some parts of the
Mount Jefferson Wilderness will remain
closed due to impact from the Lion-
shead Fire from this past Labor Day.
How does the permit system work
again?
Under the limited entry system ap-
proved earlier this year, each trailhead
in the three wilderness areas will have a
quota of permits people must buy be-
fore entering.
For example, at Marion Lake Trail-
head in the Mount Jefferson Wilder-
ness, there will be 10 overnight group
permits and 40 day-use permits avail-
able each day.
At less-traveled trailheads, where
crowds haven't been a major issue, a
permit will be required for an overnight
trip but not a day hike.
A similar system and cost has been in
place for Obsidian Trail and Pamelia
Lake since the early 1990s.
What's the cost for breaking the
rules?
The first year the permit system goes
online is likely to require a lot of educa-
tion, forest officials said.
They haven't decided on a specific
fine for breaking the rules — and not
having a permit. But currently, those
who travel to limited entry areas such as
Obsidian Trail and Pamelia Lake can get
hit with a fine of $200.
See PERMITS, Page 2B