What's up on the Umpqua? - river canyon in Oregon

Sunset, June, 1996 by Jeff Phillips

This scenic Oregon river canyon, legendary for its steelhead fishing, offers hiking, biking, and rafting too

Plunging down through a steep, forested canyon from its headwaters near the crest of the Cascade Range, the North Umpqua River is one of Oregon's best poorly kept secrets. For decades the river's deep pools have ranked as some of the West's top fly-fishing waters for native summer-run steelhead, but angling is hardly the river's only attraction. Indeed, some locals would argue that nowadays it isn't even the main attraction.

Much of the lush river canyon is threaded by State Highway 138, which heads into the Cascades from Interstate 5 at Roseburg. A lesser-used "back door" to Crater Lake National Park some 80 miles east, the winding, two-lane road provides access not only to the best fishing along the river, but also to riverside campgrounds, put-ins for river-rafting trips, and trailheads to thundering waterfalls and some challenging mountain biking. Even if you don't get out of the car, the drive is one of the most scenic in this part of the state.

SHORT HIKES TO WATERFALLS ... OR A LONGER STREAMSIDE TREK

On your way up State 138 from Roseburg, your first stop is the small town of Glide, where the Colliding Rivers Information Center (open 9 to 5 daily in summer) offers maps, information on everything from campgrounds to commercial river trips, and current fishing regulations. A wayside here overlooks the spot where the North Umpqua and Little rivers meet at a near-90 [degrees] angle, a churning maelstrom of foam at its most dramatic during winter high water.

As you drive upriver, small streams tumbling down steep side canyons into the North Umpqua offer a rare concentration of short, mostly easy hikes to waterfalls as delightful for their variety as for their beauty (though not for their poison oak). Of the major falls in the North Umpqua drainage, the following three are easily accessible - and our favorites.

The first waterfall trail you'll come to, 12 miles east of Glide, is Susan Creek Falls, a gentle mile walk (keep to the right where the trail forks) through transition forest, where oak and bay laurel give way to Douglas fir. Picnickers will find a shady table near the base of the falls, a 50-foot-tall plume streaming over a mossy rock wall.

Barely 4 miles farther up the road is the trailhead to Fall Creek Falls, another mile-long hike that weaves between big slabs of rock to the bottom of the three-tiered cascade. Climbing another 1/4 mile up a single long switchback brings you to a spray-soaked view of the middle fall; continuing to the lip of the small top tier takes you, disappointingly, to a road.

Perhaps the nicest hike is to Watson Falls, whose thundering, 272-foot free fall is one of the state's tallest. When we climbed the moderately steep 1/2-mile trail through this upper-elevation forest 45 miles east of Glide late last June, the cool understory of Oregon grape and ferns was accented by purplish pink rhododendron blooms.

There's a fourth falls option about 2 1/2 miles down the road from Watson Falls. The double cascade of Toketee Falls is at the end of a popular 1/2-mile trail that, after being closed last summer, should reopen with a new viewing platform this hiking season.

More serious hikers can attack the nearly completed North Umpqua Trail, a 77-mile path that will soon stretch from Rock Creek near Idleyld Park to the Pacific Crest Trail near Maidu Lake, the source of the North Umpqua. (The incomplete 8-mile stretch above Boulder Creek should be ready in July.) The 5 1/2-mile Mott segment near the Steamboat Inn (about an hour from Roseburg) edges a particularly scenic stretch of fly-fishing water. A free brochure listing all North Umpqua trailheads is available at the Colliding Rivers Information Center or by calling (541) 672-6601.

RIDING THE RIVER AND BIKING MOUNTAIN TRAILS

Fishing may be the oldest sport on the river, but the fastest-growing activity is rafting. This summer 13 outfitters have permits to run the river, testimony not only to the quality of the scenery but to the excitement of the ride. The most thrilling rafting comes in May and June, when water levels are high and rapids such as Frogger and Pinball churn with solid class 3 thrills. The water is cold enough in early season for outfitters to offer wet suits to paddlers.

One of the largest outfitters on the river is Oregon Ridge & River Excursions (496-3333), based in Glide. Half-day trips run $75; full-day trips cost $95 (wet suits included). Other major North Umpqua outfitters include Orange Torpedo Trips (800/635-2925), Oregon Whitewater Adventures (800/820-7238), and Ouzel Outfitters (800/788-7238).

Experienced mountain bikers can ride lower portions of the North Umpqua Trail or explore logging and fire roads off Illahee Road, 9 miles east of the Steamboat Inn. Oregon Ridge & River includes bike rentals in a variety of guided tours for all levels of bikers.

A VANISHING HERITAGE OF CLASSIC STEELHEAD FISHING

As varied as the North Umpqua's recreational opportunities are, the river's mystique is still steeped in its fishing lore, even though the reality of catching hard-fighting steelhead in these waters has certainly changed since the river's glory days of the 1930s. Nowadays fly fishers must find as much satisfaction in the art of fishing as in actually catching anything.