Planning
One of the biggest natural highlights of Oregon is the sheer amount of waterfalls that it posses. You can find countless falls on the western half of Oregon on the adjacent mountain ranges that make up the Willamette Valley, and all the way up to and through the Columbia River Gorge. One of the more notable waterfalls I’ve come across is Proxy Falls. Proxy Falls caught my eye from the Google Maps photos, because it’s one of my favorite types of waterfall. I’m no geologist, but I did a little research and found out that Proxy Falls seems to be categorized as a fan waterfall.
Trip
Proxy Falls sits off of the 242 McKenzie Scenic Highway in Blue River, Oregon. Highway 242 splits off of Highway 126 just before you hit Belknap Springs and is directly west of North Sister. From the highway all the way to the parking lot of Proxy falls, the road is well paved and maintained. If you are leaving from Eugene, the trip out to Proxy Falls should take you about an hour and thirty minutes. I found the drive rather scenic, but unless your heading north on highway 5 up to Portland, any drive thirty minutes out of Eugene is scenic. I will say that the 242 McKenzie Scenic Highway was exceptionally pretty. The road was very smooth with twists and bends throughout. I think what really made the scene come together was seeing all the fall colors pop in the forest.
Parking at Proxy Falls is rather sparse, but it’s not a very popular location either. Although, you do still have to pay for parking at the terminal. After parking and gathering my camera gear, I was off on the trail to Proxy Falls.
Conditions
The trail to Proxy Falls is a loop with two falls along the path, Upper Proxy Falls and Proxy Falls itself. The loop is 1.7 miles in length and about 1 mile before you hit the first fall. the trail itself starts off gravel and dirt and then quickly transforms to a lava-cast forest landscape. The darkness from the rocks along with the orange from the autumn trees really made the landscape pop. The hike gets a little treacherous in areas with large rocks poking out from the pathway. Then, leading down into the area where Proxy Falls sits were dozens of fell tress that blocked much of the path down to the base of the falls. Getting down with all my camera gear was difficult, but very worth it.
Glimpses of Proxy Falls can be seen between the trees as you approach, but climbing over the fell tree trunks is with the close up. From afar, the falls don’t seem to be as big as they are, but up close is a different story. Moon Falls in Oregon is a fan waterfall as well, but it is dwarfed by the height of Proxy Falls. For reference, Proxy Falls is 225 feet tall while Salt Creek Falls is at 286 feet. I got as close to the falls as I could without my camera getting soaked. I was also trying to beat the rain, and it just started to catch up to me. After capturing a handful of photos while wiping down my camera gear between each shot, I got as good of a shot as I was going to get. With my gear almost drenched I returned the way I came. I really hope there is an effort to remove all the downed tree trunks soon, because getting back up the hill was a pain in the butt. I wanted to continue on the path to Upper Proxy Falls, but I didn’t want to risk my camera.
Conclusion
Overall, I think Proxy Falls makes for an amazing visit, even if you need to drive a bit out of the way. With Lower Linton Falls, White Branch Falls, and the Three Sisters all very close by, it will be hard to be at a loss for adventure. I can’t wait to return on a day when its not raining!