Niagara Falls is a 134-foot horsetail waterfall in the Siuslaw National Forest of Yamhill County, Oregon, and has nothing to do with the famous falls on the New York–Ontario border beyond the name. It pours from an unnamed stream off Niagara Point in the Coast Range, and it shares a short forest trail with the neighboring Pheasant Creek Falls, a separate waterfall.
The falls
The stream spreads over a dark basalt escarpment in a single drop about 10 feet wide. The World Waterfall Database measured 122 feet in the field in 2013 but now uses a lidar figure of 134 feet, which avoids the foreshortening of a view from below; other listings give 107 feet, and earlier surveys listed 122 feet. The creek is fed only by runoff, carrying roughly 5 cubic feet per second at high water and none at all in dry spells.
Getting there
To reach the trailhead, drive 14 miles south of Tillamook on US 101, then turn left on Blaine-Nestucca River Road for about 11¾ miles. At the junction where signs for Clarence Creek Falls point left, turn right, cross the Nestucca River and continue about 4 miles, then turn right at the trail signs and drop downhill to the parking area. Niagara Falls Trail #1379 descends from there, offering an easy mile to the falls. The out-and-back route to both waterfalls measures 1.6 miles with 590 feet of gain, rated easy. There are no facilities at the trailhead, and no fees or permits are listed.
When to go
November through April are the recommended months, and the flow is much reduced by late July. Winter is also recommended, when the small creeks draining Niagara Point run well.
On site
The trail passes a footbridge beside the falls, close enough for spray to reach the path, and a picnic table sits near the base. Pheasant Creek Falls, a narrow plunge into a small pool, is on the same walk.
History and name
The falls take their name from nearby Niagara Point; neither waterfall is on Niagara Creek. For years some visitors held that the fall on Pheasant Creek was the "real" Niagara Falls, a mix-up that has since been cleared up.
Nearby
Pheasant Creek Falls is about 0.1 mile away, on the same trail. Bible Creek Falls is about 2.6 miles away and Nenamusa Falls about 2.9 miles.
Distances are straight-line.