Sherars Falls is a 15-foot waterfall on the Deschutes River in Wasco County, Oregon, near Highway 216 at Sherars Bridge. It sits on land of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and members still fish the falls for salmon with dipnets from wooden platforms, a practice the tribes trace back thousands of years.
The falls
The Deschutes pours through a single 15-foot drop within a narrow horseshoe-shaped trough cut into basalt. It is the last waterfall on the river before it reaches the Columbia. The average high flow reaches about 4,000 cubic feet per second, though irrigation withdrawals upstream have made the falls weaker than they once were.
Getting there
The falls are beside Highway 216 at Sherars Bridge, just north of Maupin and about 45 minutes south of The Dalles by way of Highway 197. From Maupin, the paved first 12 miles of the BLM's Lower Deschutes River Back Country Byway run downstream along the east bank and meet Highway 216 near the falls.
The site is tribal land. The Warm Springs Fisheries Department requires a day-use access permit for every visitor, whatever their age: $20 per day, or $120 for an annual permit under the 2026 regulations, bought online through the tribes' permit system (phone 541-553-2001). Public access is limited to the west bank and some parking areas are reserved for tribal members.
When to go
The falls run all year. The tribal council keeps the fishery open year-round, and lamprey are taken from June through August. Canyon slopes above the river feature spring wildflowers.
On site
The main sight is the fishery: platforms built out over the rough water, where only tribal members may fish. Rules are posted on site. The falls are rated Class 6 and are under an administrative closure to boaters because of the danger.
History and name
The falls are named for Joseph Sherar, who bought the bridge crossing below them in 1871. Historic accounts suggest Peter Skene Ogden reached them in September 1826. Long before that, the Tyx' Band, who lived in what is now Tygh Valley, harvested salmon and eels here; the band was later moved to the Warm Springs Reservation, and the 1855 treaty kept its right to fish at usual and accustomed places.
Nearby
Three falls on the White River are close by: White River Falls is about 3.1 miles away, with Celestial Falls at about 3 miles and Lower White River Falls at about 2.9 miles.
Distances are straight-line.