McKenzie River Trail

This really is a spectacular hike. I haven’t done anywhere near as much of it as others (essentially just the first five miles or so), but the scenery is unbelievable, especially because it’s so close to civilization that one can actually arrive via city bus.
Of course, said bus is generally loaded with even filthier individuals than usual, so I’d recommend getting out there extremely early (the first one leaves downtown Eugene at 4:40 in the morning on weekdays, but it’s more than worth it). That, and on one recent hike I actually ran into a couple of naked hippies using the main trail as a campground/​bathroom… but hey, it’s Oregon, right? «Free spirits» who become threatening when you have the audacity to use a public trail! Yes, really.
But aside from the usual junkies & bums, this hike is as good as it gets. :)
P. S. Even if you don’t set foot on the trail, go further up the road to Koosah & Sahalie Falls. And damn sure bring a camera!

We got to hike the Koosah Falls to Sahalie Falls with a little one. We also visited Clear Lake after.
Both falls are located along McKenzie River in the Cascade Mountains.
Sahalie Falls is by far my favorite waterfall in Oregon. There is an access trail heading towards the waterfall (although it says «Do NOT Enter»). This falls is in a Disney movie called Homeward Bound.
Sahalie Falls is basically a lookout that is less than 100ft from the parking lot. So, it is great for family and kids.
There is a loop starting from this falls, an easy 2.6 mile, it will lead you to Koosah Falls!
There’s a bathroom at Sahalie Falls. No fee or permits needed.
From Highway 126, there are signs to guide you where to enter.

The McKenzie River Trail is probably THE star of the Cascade mountain range. If you can’t see anything else — see this. This is a 27 mile trail that is jaw dropping beautiful from start to finish. The changing typography keeps it interesting as you start just above clear lake and hike (or even better bike) down the trail. It follows the pristine McKenzie River from its headwaters down the mountain. Along the way it passes 2 awesome waterfalls and something called Blue Pool (you just have to se it for yourself). I found a trail map and more information at
There are a lot of camping sites along the river, but if you prefer a warm shower and soft bed, check out McKenzie River Mountain Resort — they were nice and they treated us right.

SO here I am asking out of the kindness and loving in my heart to my hubby, where he wants to go for my July 4^th week since I am off. Does he want to go to Mexico… NO, Hawaii,. NO, Las Vegas NO. He tells me. «Beautiful, lets go camping.»
Ok, I’ll be the 1^st to admit that I had never ever ever been camping at that point and was extremely apprehensive. But we went to Mel Cotton’s, packed the truck with camping gear, and hauled ourselves 12 hours in traffic from San Jose, CA to Blue River Oregon.
It was a sight to behold. Layers and layers of tall beautiful forest surrounding a beautiful waterfall called Sahalie Falls, and then a gorgeous river with nothing but blue skies. It was a fantastic site. The hiking trails are wonderful, but be mindful of the ever loving flies. I almost got bit by one. He was huge. But we sat on a rock and went fishing. and caught nothing, so we walked across this wood bridge and then back to our campground. THERE ARE NO SHOWERS here, you can clean yourself in the river with biodegradable soup.
It was my 1^st experience, but I would go back.