At 32 feet, Downing Creek Falls is a spring-fed waterfall on Downing Creek in Linn County, Oregon, with no developed trail to its base.
The falls
The creek drops as a segmented plunge, the second of at least three falls on Downing Creek, splitting into three or four channels over cube-shaped basalt; smaller dribbles add mist and moss around the main drop. Most of the water emerges from springs about a quarter mile upstream, keeping the falls running year-round; a separate upper waterfall on the creek depends on snowmelt instead. The drop measures 32 feet.
Getting there
There is no developed or officially sanctioned route to the falls. Reaching them in 2024 required an unmarked forest road, then a rocky former road, and finally a faint, unmaintained bushwhack, with no parking area or other amenities noted. Willamette National Forest's alert page for the district lists no closure specific to Downing Creek, but no land manager for this particular access route is confirmed either.
When to go
Flow is steady year-round because the creek is spring-fed.
On site
Facilities, fees and posted rules for the site are not documented; there is no maintained trail.
Nearby
Upper Downing Creek Falls is about 0.4 mile away, Lower Downing Creek Falls about 0.5 mile downstream, and Parkett Creek Falls, on a separate creek, about 2 miles away.
Distances are straight-line.