The trail is steep, shadowy and slippery, but we can’t pass up the chance to see the nearly 300-foot-high Watson Falls, one of a dozen along Oregon’s Highway 138 in the Umpqua National Forest. It’s not called the Highway of Waterfalls for nothing.
Hiking here is like trekking through a cold-water humidifier, but we have no complaints. This is the climate that produces Oregon’s rich rainforests and endless waterfalls.
On our descent, we round a hairpin turn and see her emerge like an apparition — a barefoot blonde, loose curls cascading over her shoulders. Her nearly iridescent, alabaster sundress is in stark contrast to the deeply verdant woodland.
This vision could pass for Botticelli’s Venus with clothes.
Two women accompany this Venus — one with a camera; the other loaded down with backpack, clothing and a pair of clunky, loosely laced athletic shoes.
“Senior picture,” says the burdened one, pointing to Venus. “I’m the pack mule.”
We are impressed.
It takes chutzpah to head half-dressed into an Oregon forest in October to memorialize the final year of high school.
Despite this encounter, Watson Falls, Oregon’s highest plunge waterfall, is the main attraction on this trail. It is our consolation prize for missing out on Crater Lake, lost in a whiteout earlier in the day. (The snow at lower altitudes in Crater Lake National Park made for lovely photos, though.)
Our day, which began in Roseburg, gives us a sampling of the varied adventures that visitors can expect when traveling through western Oregon in October. Damp days, warm days, cool days and snow days are all part of the mix. Autumn also brings an uncrowded Oregon coastline, where we head after four days of exploring Salem.
We begin our drive down Oregon’s Central Coast at Lincoln City.
Though Oregon’s interior has no lack of water features, the Pacific looks spectacular nonetheless as we drive south on Highway 101. Parking places are abundant near the miles of deserted, pristine beaches. A brisk breeze creates resistance as we walk south on the sand, and then it’s time to decide where to lunch.
There are endless choices, but we land in Newport at a restaurant with a direct sightline to the Sea Lion Docks on the city’s Historic Bayfront. Dozens of sea lions vie for limited space on a platform, delighting onlookers who line the dock above.
A post-lunch walk takes us along the harbor boardwalk where families and friends have memorialized loved ones with a quarter-mile of colorful benches. In the distance is the 3,200-foot Yaquina Bay Bridge, with its multiple arches and Art Deco and Gothic adornments. Built during the Depression, it was funded by FDR’s Public Works Administration and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
We choose Yachats, population 1,018, to overnight. Our hotel sits adjacent to Yachats Ocean Road, more akin to a nearly car-free walking path. We can step out our back door for an expansive view of the rugged coastline and can see Yachats in the distance.
Also right outside our back door, within 10 feet, is a wedding rehearsal party, and the inn’s worn amenities take us back to the ’60s.
The next morning, though: the best breakfast of our lives.
The Drift Inn, a historic establishment in Yachats, cooks up the biggest, most delicious, gluten-free savory and sweet crepes you’ll find anywhere. And to top off a perfect meal, there is post-breakfast entertainment right in front of the Highway 101 restaurant: the annual Mushroom Festival, a parade of witches and the second No Kings rally.
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