There are tons of waterfalls that surround the Umpqua National Forest. There are many breathtaking sights to see that are off of highway 138 along the north Umpqua trail. We chose this trip because we were near Bend, and why not! Here's a link to the map of all the waterfalls along this stretch, we spent around 4-5 hours visiting diamond lake and waterfalls 1, 2, 3, 4, and 11.
We started our adventure at diamond lake, mostly to stretch our feet, but to our surprise their boat and paddle boat rentals were pretty cheap! We rented a paddle boat and headed to the middle of the lake. The water was so clear, and the boat was a great way to get away from those fishing and playing at the water's edge near the cabins and camp sights nearby.
Once you are back on Highway 138 going west you will find so many signs for waterfalls or lookouts, take them, there are so many beautiful things that could easily be missed. Clearwater falls (4) was a short walk from the parking lot where you can find mossy rocks and trees within the fall. It also is a camping area!
Next up! Whitehorse Falls (11) another waterfall a very short walk from the road or parking lot. There is a wooden platform where you can stand and admire the beautiful nature around.
One of the most breathtaking in this stretch without a doubt is Watson Falls (1). This place deserves a visit if you find yourself around the trail to this waterfall. It does go up and down hill but it is worth it, it is a 0.8 mile loop journey and if you want to go off trail you can hike to the bottom of this plunging waterfall. Going near the bottom of the trail be aware of getting sprayed by water, slippery rocks and moss.
Finally, we stopped at Toketee Falls (2) and the Umpqua Hot Springs (3). Toketee is an out and back trail that is 0.8 miles round trip. The hot springs are a short drive from the Toketee Falls, there were three sulfur pools that were quite warm. The hike to the springs is up a hill and, in a few sections, you might need to use the fencing to brace yourself. I didn't grab any pictures of the springs because it was busy when we went around 2pm on a Saturday.
For more information about this Highway of Waterfalls and the Umpqua trail check this website out: LINK. It is a great recourse with some trail images of all of these waterfalls and is a great resource to plan your trips. Below is a screenshot of the website I linked with information of all 17 of these falls/nature spots.
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