Overview

• Location: Tillamook County, Tillamook State Forest (near Tillamook)

• Waterfall Type: Horsetail

• Height: ~35 feet (11 m)

• Trail Distance: Short walk from roadside pullout; less than 0.2 miles

• Difficulty: Easy

• Best Time to Visit: Year-round; best flow fall through spring

History & Background

Fern Rock Falls is a small roadside horsetail waterfall in the Tillamook State Forest, one of Oregon’s most storied publicly managed forests. The Tillamook State Forest is remembered for the Tillamook Burn — a series of catastrophic wildfires between 1933 and 1951 that devastated nearly 360,000 acres of old-growth timber. In a remarkable conservation effort, Oregon schoolchildren and volunteers planted millions of trees throughout the 1940s and 1950s to replant the burned hills. Today the forest has largely recovered into productive second-growth timber, managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry. Fern Rock Falls flows through this regrown landscape, a pleasant roadside discovery for visitors driving the forest roads south and east of Tillamook. The falls take their name from the abundant ferns that carpet the rocks and banks in this moist coastal environment.

Geology

Fern Rock Falls drops over a basaltic ledge in the northern Coast Range at approximately 850 feet elevation, part of the oceanic basalt terrane that underlies much of the Oregon Coast Range. The Tillamook State Forest receives among the highest annual precipitation in Oregon—over 100 inches at higher elevations—which sustains the lush fern, moss, and alder understory that characterizes the forest floor and gives the falls their evocative name. The recovering Douglas fir forest here is growing on the same volcanic basement rock that supported old-growth stands before the catastrophic fires of the mid-20th century.

Directions & Access

• Nearest City: Tillamook, OR (~15 miles northwest)

• Trail Information:

  • Short, easy path from a roadside pullout in the Tillamook State Forest leads directly to the base of the falls

  • The surrounding forest road network offers opportunities for further exploration of the Tillamook State Forest; the Tillamook Forest Center near the Wilson River provides interpretive resources

• Parking:

  • Roadside pullout adjacent to the falls; no fee; Forest Development Fund managed land

• Accessibility:

  • Short, flat access from the roadside; generally accessible for most visitors

Best Time to Visit

• Spring: Strong flows from coastal rains; the surrounding forest explodes in vivid green with ferns and wildflowers

• Summer: Reduced flow; cool shaded forest; a pleasant escape from coastal summer crowds

• Fall: Flows return with October rains; beautiful fall color from red alder and vine maple

• Winter: Highest flows; road access remains open; dramatic coastal forest conditions

Nearby Attractions

• Tillamook Forest Center (Wilson River)

• Wilson River Trail

• Tillamook (cheese factory, air museum)

• Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint

• Munson Creek Falls (~20 miles south)

References

• Links:

  • Oregon Department of Forestry – Tillamook State Forest

  • Tillamook Forest Center

• Books:

  • Oregon Waterfalls by Greg Plumb

  • Waterfall Lover's Guide: Pacific Northwest