HIKING
Brice
Is Nice
Hike through old-
growth woods to
a creek’s pools
BY WILLIAM L. SULLIVAN
BRICE CREEK WATERFALL POOL Photos by William L. Sullivan
L
ast August fi re crews stopped a
blaze from burning one of the
prettiest old-growth forests
within an hour’s drive of
Eugene. Today the road from
Cottage Grove to Brice Creek still has
“Thank You Firefi ghters” signs.
The trail along Brice Creek leads past
small waterfalls and swimmable pools
under the canopy of big old trees. A quar-
ter-mile stroll takes you to the largest
of the pools. For a longer hike, continue
upstream another 3.7 miles to the ferny
grotto of Trestle Creek Falls.
The route is easy enough for children
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and is open to mountain bikers. No permits
are required and parking is free. A paved
road unobtrusively parallels the trail on
the creek’s opposite shore, making access
easy at several points.
To start, drive Interstate 5 to Cottage
Grove exit 174 and follow signs east to
Dorena Lake. Continue on the main, paved
road a total of 18.6 miles from the freeway,
passing the reservoir and the settlements
of Dorena and Culp Creek. At a large paved
fork, follow the yellow center line to the
right onto Brice Creek Road.
After 3.3 miles on Brice Creek Road,
just after a junction with Holland Point
BRICE CREEK
Road, you’ll reach the fi rst of four Brice
Creek Trailheads, a large parking lot on
the right. You could start your hike here,
but to park closer to the swimmable pools,
drive another 1.2 miles to the Cedar Creek
Campground.
Park by an outhouse to the left of the
campground entrance and walk a 150-foot-
long footbridge across Brice Creek. Then
turn right on the Brice Creek Trail through
a mossy forest of Douglas-fi r and red cedar.
Sword ferns, oxalis and twinfl ower thrive
here.
A quarter mile beyond is a charming,
8-foot waterfall surrounded by smooth rock
terraces ideal for sunbathing or picnick-
ing. Children can play on a small cobble
beach nearby, while swimmers will fi nd the
clear, 15-foot-deep pool beside the terrace
tempting, although the water is very cold.
Many people turn back here, but it’s
worth continuing. The next mile of trail
passes half a dozen other creekside sites
almost as attractive.
At the 1.8-mile mark the trail climbs
a bluff to a viewpoint 300 feet above the
creek. When the path fi nally returns to the
creek you’ll reach a fork. The path to the
right crosses a footbridge to Lund Park
Campground, so keep left. After another
0.6 miles the Trestle Creek Trail forks up
to the left. This is a possible side trip,
climbing 1.6 miles to a small upper falls,
but the trail is steep and slippery with
loose gravel. Instead, continue straight on
the Brice Creek Trail another half mile to a
footbridge over Trestle Creek. Just before
the bridge, turn left on a trail that follows
Trestle Creek 0.3 miles to the trail’s end in
a rock gorge at 50-foot Trestle Creek Falls.
This is a good place to declare victory
before heading home.
As you hike back down Trestle Creek
you might wonder, “Where’s the trestle?”
If you look closely you can see the rock
abutments for a long-vanished water fl ume
bridge where the Brice Creek Trail crosses
Trestle Creek. The fl ume once brought
water to a small power plant at what is
now Lund Park Campground.
Note that Lund Park was never actu-
ally a park. It was originally a wayside inn
popular with travelers to the Bohemia gold
mining district in the late 19th century.
The hotel at Lund Park was named for its
owners, Alex Lundgren and Tom Parker.
With similar profundity, Brice Creek is a
drawling commemoration of Frank Brass,
an early prospector who once fell into
the stream.
If you think those names are arcane,
consider as you drive back to Cottage
Grove along Row River Road that Row
River rhymes with “cow liver,” and was
named for two early miners who had an
argument there — a row.
A hike at Brice Creek is a trip through
history — not only the history of a pioneer
mining district, but also of an ancient forest
that narrowly escaped fi re.
William L. Sullivan is the author of 24 books,
including The Ship in the Ice and the updated
“100 Hikes” series for Oregon. Learn more at
OregonHiking.com.
May 8, 2025
21