Stasel Falls Hike

Overview

NOTICE: Trails in this area were affected by the 2020 Beachie Creek Fire. Please check on current closures with the Oregon Department of Forestry before planning an outing. Stasel Falls is quite possibly the most impressive falls in the area, but it's also the hardest to reach. This is an easy hike to the top of the waterfall, but the trip to the bottom is a lot more treacherous. The trail starts up a gated, closed road. There is private property on either side of the road here, and you won't get a wilderness feel. Instead, you'll be treated to a charming view that could be Oregon in 1930 or 1940. The gravel road passes through a cattle pastures, passes a distant sheep barn and a small tree farm. At one point, you'll likely share the trail with a herd of cattle. In my experience they've been very docile and friendly to hikers. At 8/10 of a mile, there's a small pond on the left, hosting the world's loudest frogs (or so they seemed to me). At 1 mile, you'll enter the Santiam State Forest. This is now public land and off-trail (off-road) bushwacking is permitted, if not easy. At 1.2 miles, you'll come to a very interesting group of features. The road crosses Shellburg Creek on a short bridge. Immediately above the bridge, the Shellburg Falls Trail heads up to the left paralleling the stream to Shellburg Falls. Immediately below the bridge is Lower Shellburg Falls, a 40 foot, two tiered waterfall. The waterfall is somewhat difficult to see from above and a tree with a recently broken top isn't helping any. The better views are from below, but the only way to do that is a mad scramble down the steep bluff just east of the waterfall. This is doable by experienced bushwackers, but it's not recommended for kids or newcomers to hiking. For this hike, continue east on the road. In a short distance, you'll come to a large "1 1/2 mile" marker spray painted on a tree. These mile markers are used by log trucks and they are called out on CB radios, allowing empty trucks to clear the roads for outgoing loads. Just b

Trail Stats

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250px-StaselTop

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300px-LowerShellburg

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