Lemolo Falls Trail

Trail
1.70 Miles
N/A
Free
4stars (4.00)1
4stars (4.00)
4stars (4.00)
No
N/A
N/A
No
Douglas
Photos
Fallen giant
A toppled large tree took some of the boulders its roots had embraced with it when it fell. (Photo by Austin Explorer)
Lemolo Falls
The end of the trail at Lemolo Falls. (Photo by Austin Explorer)
Lemolo Falls
Lemolo Falls and the North Umqua River. (Photo by Austin Explorer)
Getting closer
The trail to Lemolo Falls does not extend far beyond the trees Coppertone is fast approaching. (Photo by Austin Explorer)
Onward to the falls
Coppertone continues down the trail to get closer to Lemolo Falls. (Photo by Austin Explorer)
First glimpse
Our first view of the Lemolo Falls from the trail. (Photo by Austin Explorer)
Trail View
The start and middle sections of trail are easy to traverse before the final segments turn a bit steep and muddy. (Photo by Austin Explorer)
Coppertone at Lemolo Falls
Coppertone nears the end of the trail at Lemolo Falls. (Photo by Austin Explorer)
Log Entries
Descending hike to Lemolo Falls
By Austin Explorer on 6/8/2022
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 4stars Solitude: 4stars
Distance: 2.92 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 43 minutes

There were a few miles of gravel roads leading to the trailhead again for us, which was not unexpected or difficult.  The problem was the last segement of less than a quarter mile, which transitioned into a heavily eroded dirt path.  A high clearance vehicle would be called for here.  We found a spot to park near this junction and just walked to the trailhead from there.

The trail descends from the start towards its waterfalls goal.  The trail changes from rocky at the start to soft packed dirt in the middle and turns muddy as it gets closer to the falls.  At times the trail will hug steep canyon walls.

We passed by a large fallen tree's root ball.  It's tangled roots had tightly embraced a large number of rocks which were unearthed when it toppled over.  It almost resembled some strange sculptures we've seen in galleries.

We spotted a large number of small blue butterflies throughout the trail though we could not possibly guess the species.  They would be disturbed as we passed by and swirl around in small groups.

The trail doesn't quite make it to the exact base of the falls as it peters out when the slope of the terrain gets a bit too steep.  But you'll be close enough to hear the tunderous roar of the water and experience a fine mist.

We encountered only a couple of other people on the trail during our journey and thus had to falls almost completely to ourselves.  With about 600 feet of elevation gain all paid back on the return trip we were a bit tired when we got back to our car.  That did not stop us from going to investigate a couple of nearby small patches of snow that remained here.

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