White Branch Falls is a 35-foot cascade in Oregon's Willamette National Forest, in Lane County, off a trailhead near Camp White Branch and the seasonal gate on Oregon Route 242.
The falls
The fall is a 45-degree cascade with a run of about 50 feet on a spring-fed tributary of White Branch; mossy volcanic steps form the visible lower section, and any upper tiers were not surveyed. A field survey carried out in July 2023 put the total height at 35 feet in a single drop. An older reading of the same page had given 26 feet, and a separate report of a roughly 60-foot drop on White Branch itself is thought to describe a different waterfall nearby rather than this one.
Getting there
The trailhead sits off Forest Service Road 240 near Camp White Branch, close to the seasonal gate on Oregon Route 242. Parking is in a clearing 0.25 mile from OR 242; from there the route crosses the stream and follows a sign, reaching the falls in about 0.4 mile of easy walking followed by a strenuous final climb. OR 242 is normally gated and unmaintained from November to mid-June, with the earliest possible opening on the third Monday of June; the Department of Transportation recorded it open on June 15, 2026, and bars vehicles over 35 feet whenever it is open.
When to go
The falls are reachable only when OR 242 is open, so the season runs from around its mid-June reopening into the fall before the road's usual November closure.
On site
The view from the base takes in the surveyed lower cascade; reaching any higher, unsurveyed tier would mean scrambling above it. The highway corridor has no services or cell coverage, and weather along it changes quickly. Fees, permits, swimming rules, dog policy and any incident history at the falls are not documented.
History and name
White Branch Falls is the name posted at the trailhead. An older guidebook names it Youth Camp Falls.
Nearby
The Unnamed waterfall on White Branch is about 0.7 mile away on the same stream — possibly the fall behind the separate 60-foot report. Proxy Falls is about 1.7 miles away, and Upper Proxy Falls about 1.9 miles.
Distances are straight-line.