A two-tier plunge over a wall of columnar basalt on the North Umpqua, with flow smoothed year round by the hydroelectric diversion whose wooden pipe lines the access road.
Year round
Big water window
see the season section
Flow controlled
What drives it
North Umpqua River
Climatology
Data on this page
North Umpqua River is ungauged
USFS Umpqua
Managed by
their rules govern
Trail status, closures and safety rules belong to each falls' managing agency, named and linked on every page.
The season
What fills Toketee Falls, and when
Toketee sits directly below a diversion of the North Umpqua Hydroelectric Project; the Forest Service page points out the big pipe along the trailhead road as part of it. Water sent through the penstock is water that does not come over the falls, which flattens the seasonal swing most Cascades rivers show. The result is a reliably handsome falls in every month, with the biggest surplus spilling in late winter and spring. That regulated-driver reading is ours; the agency documents the project but not its flow effects.
What the agency itself says
The trail ends at a sturdy viewing platform overlooking a two-tiered falls. The upper descent drops 40 feet, and the lower falls plunges 80 feet over a sheer wall of basalt.
Multnomah Falls in autumn: a Columbia Gorge falls that keeps respectable flow year round, and the standard against which most falls seasons get measured. “Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Multnomah Falls, fall color - 3” — Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region — Public domain
Getting there
Access, in the agency's words and ours
Trail 1495 runs 0.4 miles and nearly 200 steps to a viewing platform over the two tiers, which the Forest Service puts at 40 and 80 feet. The North Umpqua here is a designated Wild and Scenic River.
What a flow-controlled river looks like when the water is passed (Shoshone Falls, Idaho, power plant in frame). Toketee's hydro project runs quieter, smoothing the North Umpqua into year-round consistency. “Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls, Idaho” by Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
Common questions
Toketee Falls flow season FAQ
Toketee sits directly below a diversion of the North Umpqua Hydroelectric Project; the Forest Service page points out the big pipe along the trailhead road as part of it. Water sent through the penstock is water that does not come over the falls, which flattens the seasonal swing most Cascades rivers show. The result is a reliably handsome falls in every month, with the biggest surplus spilling in late winter and spring. That regulated-driver reading is ours; the agency documents the project but not its flow effects.
North Umpqua River has no USGS gauge near the falls, so the seasonal pattern above is the flow guide for Toketee Falls, and Umpqua National Forest (US Forest Service) is the source for current conditions on the ground.
No. Between a large spring-fed river and a hydro project that smooths its swings, Toketee is among the most consistent falls in the Cascades, which makes it a strong late-summer choice when snowmelt falls are fading.
Umpqua National Forest (US Forest Service). Trail 1495 runs 0.4 miles and nearly 200 steps to a viewing platform over the two tiers, which the Forest Service puts at 40 and 80 feet. The North Umpqua here is a designated Wild and Scenic River. Trail status, closures and safety rules are theirs, and their page is linked on this one; nothing here overrides what they publish.
In their own words: "*Caution* - Please DO NOT climb over the safety fence in an attempt to reach the bottom of the falls as it is extremely dangerous. There have been multiple serious injuries and fatalities over the years." That sentence is Umpqua National Forest (US Forest Service)'s, quoted verbatim, and their page is the place to check before you go.
Yosemite Falls in May, running on snowmelt that will be gone by late summer. The National Park Service tells visitors the falls can be dry by August, which is why every falls page here starts from its watershed. “Tourists below Yosemite Falls (39832011431)” by Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
A 224 foot single plunge over lichen-splashed columnar basalt in the western Columbia Gorge, minutes from the historic highway and at its best in the wet half of the year.
The 177 foot curtain you can walk behind, headliner of Silver Falls State Park's Trail of Ten Falls and the centerpiece of Oregon's largest state park.
Oregon's second highest single drop at 286 feet, an easy 50 yards from the parking lot in summer and a snowshoe destination when the observation site closes for winter.
Flow windows are typical-year climatology drawn from the driver and the agency language quoted above, not forecasts. Live readings and per-date percentiles are U.S. Geological Survey data, public domain; the above-or-below-typical line is our comparison and is labelled as such. Access, trail and safety information belongs to Umpqua National Forest (US Forest Service). National picture: waterfall season across the US → Hero image: “Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls, Idaho” by Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0
Places to stay