Shelter Falls is a waterfall on South Fork Whychus Creek in Deschutes County, Oregon, in the Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills region, with a total height of about 40 feet. It lies about 11.7 miles southwest of Sisters and roughly 19.4 miles west of Bend as the crow flies.
At 40 feet it is on the modest side for Oregon, where the typical waterfall with a recorded height stands around 54 feet; it ranks 260th of 425. The water comes down as a veiling waterfall, a thin sheet of water spread over the rock face, combined with a plunge character.
The Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills lie in the rain shadow of the Cascade crest, with open ponderosa pine forest, lodgepole pine and dry meadows on volcanic terrain. Spring-fed rivers on the porous lava ground stay remarkably steady through the year. South Fork Whychus Creek carries 5 recorded waterfalls; the biggest of them reaches 125 feet.
There are 62 recorded waterfalls in Deschutes County. Mosaic Falls, a 35-foot tiered cascade waterfall, is under a mile away. Chush Falls, a 67-foot veiling plunge waterfall, is under a mile away. Cascades, The, a 26-foot plunge waterfall, is under a mile away.
Shelter Falls is located at 44.1514° N, 121.6841° W. The listing is based on the World Waterfall Database, one of the sources compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey in its inventory of waterfalls and rapids of the conterminous United States. The creek name is confirmed against the federal Geographic Names Information System. The exact position has not yet been verified on aerial imagery, so treat the map pin as approximate. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.