Pheasant Creek Falls is a 124-foot tiered plunge waterfall on Pheasant Creek in Siuslaw National Forest, Yamhill County, Oregon, in the Coast Range. It shares a short trail with neighboring Niagara Falls, and for years it was the fall that carried the Niagara name.
The falls
The creek drops 18 feet in a rounded chute into a narrow alcove, then free-falls 106 feet into a large amphitheater coated with moss and lichen. The World Waterfall Database surveyed the falls in person and gives 124 feet; the Siuslaw National Forest lists 112 feet, a figure that may leave out the upper tier. Pheasant Creek runs all year, with a strong flow for about seven months and a trickle for the other five.
Getting there
The falls lie off the Nestucca Byway, southeast of Tillamook. The Niagara Falls trail is an easy walk of about a mile to a picnic table near the base; the combined route to both falls measures 1.56 miles out and back with 590 feet of gain. There are no fees or permits required and no facilities at the trailhead. The path crosses a footbridge below Niagara Falls before ending at Pheasant Creek Falls.
When to go
November to May brings the strongest flow. Summer volume drops sharply; at low water the stream is small enough to stand under.
On site
The picnic table sits near the foot of the falls. From the end of the trail, a short spur leads down to the creek for a different angle.
History and name
This fall was often labeled Niagara Falls. The Niagara name has since been assigned to the fall on the neighboring unnamed stream, and neither fall is actually on Niagara Creek.
Nearby
Niagara Falls is about 0.1 mile away, on the same trail. Bible Creek Falls is about 2.7 miles away, and Nenamusa Falls about 3 miles.
Distances are straight-line.