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Presumably the largest waterfall along Alex Creek, Moon Falls is an exceptional waterfall, veiling about 100 feet over a sharp wall of jagged basalt - a stark contrast to the smoothly rounded cliff at its downstream sibling, Spirit Falls. Moon Falls suffers from a bad case of foreshortening due to the slightly less than vertical pitch near the top of the falls - and a few trees at the bottom of the falls don't help the situation either. Late in the year, Alex Creek loses much of its volume at this point in its course, so the falls may not be as impressive, but I was surprised at how much water was present in the falls at mid June - photographs do a poor job at illustrating the true volume of the creek here. Alex Creek is a tributary of Layng Creek, the municipal water supply for the city of Cottage Grove. Please respect and protect the water supply by adhering to the no camping and swimming regulations within the Layng Creek watershed.
- Moon Falls is the Official name of this waterfall.
- Known Alternate Names: Moonfalls
Exit Interstate 5 at Cottage Grove (Exit 174) and drive east on Row River Road for approximately 19 1/2 miles to the junction of Brice Creek Road # 22 and Layng Creek Road # 17, and turn left onto Layng Creek Road. Follow Road # 17 for 9 miles to a junction and bear right with the main road. Drive for ¼ mile, passing the Spirit Falls trailhead, and turn left onto Road 1702. Follow this route for another 2 ¾ miles and turn right onto Road 1702-728, which is signed for Moon Falls. Follow this road to it's end in another ½ mile (stay left at the junction near the end). From here, follow the oddly muddy trail for ½ mile to the base of the falls.
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