Salt Creek Falls and Odell Lake

What a wonderful day we enjoyed on Sunday.  We woke up to a damp morning but before long the sun was out and our chairs and tablecloth were almost dry!!!  What can I say, the rain was not predicted.

Sunday’s goal was to visit Odell Lake at the summit of the Willamette Pass (that’s Hwy. 58 in Oregon).  But more about that later.  On the way we decided to stop at Salt Creek Falls.  We have stopped there many times before and I almost passed it by but, what the heck, I stopped again.  I am so glad I did.  Be aware, this is a fee area but is free with the federal America the Beautiful Pass (senior or annual).

It’s only a very short walk to the falls from the parking lot on a paved trail.  Although the falls are much showier in the late spring when the snowpack is melting, it was still an engaging vista.


Here’s a short video from the top of the falls to the bottom.  Hope it sounds better on your computers.  It sounds like sizzling bacon rather than water falls on my little laptop!!

 After visiting the falls and enjoying that spectacle, we walked farther along the trail than we had before.  The trail is paved all the way around the park except for a couple of wooden bridges.  It is a well-maintained trail and would be easily accessible for scooters or wheel chairs. 

I loved the way the trail meanders through the woods and follows the curves of Salt Creek.


There are picnic tables and fire pits scattered in the woods along the trail, many of them close to the road for easy accessibility.



The water is crystal clear.  You can see the rocks and even the moss growing on the rocks. 


A scenic wooden bridge leads to trails that go further into the woods.  These trails are not paved, but the paved trail winds around and goes back to the parking lot.  You can make a complete loop staying on the paved trail.


 
Near the end of the loop, Russ spied this colorful boggy meadow.



It was a nice walk and Poppy found lots of wonderful smells to be sniffed.  I think she even found some deer scat and that was REALLY special.  Oh, the wondrous scents of the forest!!

An interesting side note – there are flush toilets here but no sinks!  There were hand sanitizers mounted on the wall but both were empty.  Just be prepared!

On to the lake.  We made a quick tour of Princess Creek campground.  This campground is right on the lake but the road is narrow and lumpy.  Some of the sites look like they would be fine for smaller rigs.  There is a fairly new boat ramp and courtesy dock and a large parking lot for boat trailers.


We stopped for lunch at Odell Lake Resort at the east end of the lake.  This is an older resort with a few cabins, a lodge, restaurant, and boat rentals and launching.



Not much business on a chilly, overcast Sunday afternoon, but the food was good all the same.


Russ took this picture inside the lodge, especially for Paulette.


It can get really windy on this end of the lake and today proved that!  The waves on the lake were almost as big as the waves we saw at the coast last week!


On the way home we stopped at the west end of the lake but that’s a story for another day.  I was too tired to blog last night when we got home so, as usual, I am too wordy this morning!  Thanks for stopping by…we are having a wonderful time.