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Beaver Falls is a scenic 48-foot tall fall along Beaver Creek near the town of Clatskanie. Much of Beaver Creek's lower course runs through well defined basalt formations, with the falls occurring where the creek sheets out over 40-foot wide shelf and curtains into an amphitheater lined with well formed columnar jointing. A small seasonal tributary stream also plunges into the gorge adjacent to Beaver Falls, creating a nice companion waterfall (though it is difficult to see without crossing the creek).
Though Beaver Creek is not a terribly large stream and drains a lower elevation area, it possesses enough drainage area that the volume of water in the creek can swell to significant levels during the wet season. This is worth noting because the best views of the falls are achieved by fording the creek above the falls, and in high water periods this is not recommended (even though the water may not be more than shin deep, the rock can be extremely slippery). In the event that crossing to the opposite side of the creek is not possible, it becomes necessary to view the falls either from the side or from along the side of the road at the rim of the canyon. By late spring the volume of water should have subsided enough that crossing the creek above the falls is safe.
- Beaver Falls is the Official name of this waterfall.
The falls were at one time much more well known as the road which passes above the falls is the former route of Highway 30 as it ran between Portland and Astoria. When the highway was moved further inland, the road became a seldom traveled arterial and the falls don't see nearly the traffic they once did, though it still seems to be a popular location for locals to swim at.
From the junction of Highway 30 and SR 433 at the western end of the Lewis and Clark Bridge, follow Highway 30 west for 5 miles, then bear right onto Delena Road (or Beaver Falls Road, or Old Route 30; there have been signs marking it as all three in the past). As of November 2012, there was no longer a sign marking the road, so watch your odometer and look for the road which splits off from the highway heading straight ahead where the highway bears slightly left. Take Delena Road for 3.4 miles to a small paved pull-off on the left side of the road adjacent to a chain link fence with a gap in it. The gap in the fence marks the trail which runs about 500 feet down to the top of the falls. To reach the bottom, cross the creek above the falls and find the old dirt road on the other side, then look for the obvious (crumbly) dirt path which scrambles down to its base. To see the falls from the road, walk about 700 feet further down the road (up the hill) to where the falls are visible through the fence - do not attempt to hop the fence.
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