Umpqua Offers Unique Outdoor Recreational Opportunities

By Don Gilman · The Mainstream
Published October 19, 2011

Yes, it’s cold out, fall has come roaring in like winter, but with a little determination and a healthy dose of Gore-Tex, outdoor adventures can be found throughout the region. From a hilly ridge traverse fifteen minutes from campus to throwing some discs down the back nine at whistlers Bend, from the waterfalls along the Umpqua corridor to the multi-day backpack of the North Umpqua trail, there is something for every student regardless of time or fitness level.

North Bank Habitat Management Area

This ten thousand acre wildlife refuge just eight miles from UCC offers the hiker an opportunity to ascend hilly heights to astounding views (during clear weather) of Mt. Scott looming just miles away. With wide, easy to follow trails and good signs, hikers can easily link paths into loops of varying lengths.
One of the highlights of the area are the old-growth madrone trees and ? Opportunities for bird watching are also excellent due to the wide range of bird species, including multiple varieties of raptors like red tailed hawks, white-tailed kites, kestrels and the occasional bald eagle. The park was at one time one of the last places where Columbia white-tailed deer existed, and are still visible today, wandering the hills in small herds.

Whistlers Bend Disc Golf Course

Surprisingly for such a small community, this course, perched on the banks of the north Umpqua, is regarded as one of the premier disc golf courses in the northwest. Golfers from all over the U.S. come here to play this eighteen hole spread. Challenging and beautiful, set amidst groves of oak and Douglas fir with the river below, golfers need to bring their ‘A’ game for this course, particularly the #14 hole.

The North Umpqua Trail

The entire 79 miles of the trail (from Maidu Lake near the base of Mt. Thielsen to Swiftwater Park just upstream from Glide) is too long for the average UCC student, because three to four days are generally needed to hike the entire distance. However, most of the trail is broken into manageable, three to five mile long sections that re easily walked or mountain-biked in a day.

It’s hard to beat this trail, with the turquoise waters of the Umpqua raging below. The Mott, Panther and Jesse Wright sections are perfect for a moderate day of hiking along the river.

North Umpqua Waterfalls

So many waterfalls are available off of highway 138 that the difficulty is simply picking one for a day’s worth of hiking. Fall Creek Falls? Susan Creek? Lemolo Falls? Toketee? Watson?
Depending on your stamina level, a day spent visiting five or six of these cascades isn’t far-fetched because most of the hikes average from a half-mile to just over a mile.
For first-time visitors,  a recommended tour should start with Fall Creek Falls. This delightful walk takes hikers from the trailhead through a narrow rock chasm, then alongside the effervescent Fall Creek, a small stream with numerous smaller waterfalls that ultimately ends at the seventy foot falls themselves.
Toketee falls  Another stunningly beautiful choice, is a short, half-mile hike that leads past a fairytale-like canyon that soon deposits hikers at the base of what might be the most gorgeous waterfall in Oregon, dropping through a gate of columnar basalt to plummet 120 feet in two stages.
Watson Falls, the highest waterfall in southern Oregon and the third highest in the state, is an easy, two-tenths of a mile hike up into the bottom of a massive amphitheater. The cascade drops 272 feet to end as spray on the rocks below.