Oregon’s coast range hides a 240-foot bridge that hangs over a mossy waterfall

Oregon’s wildest short hike won’t disappoint

Ten miles east of Lincoln City, deep in the Siuslaw National Forest, a suspension bridge hangs in the treetops above a forested canyon. Below it, a creek rushes over boulders.

Across from it, a waterfall pours down a mossy cliff. The whole place stays cool, green, and misty for most of the year.

Drift Creek Falls Trail packs more into three miles than most hikes twice its length, and the bridge is just the beginning of what makes it worth the drive.

A bridge that swings above the canyon

The star of the trail isn’t the waterfall. It’s the 240-foot suspension bridge that puts you right across from it.

The bridge hangs more than 100 feet above the canyon floor, and when several people cross at once, you’ll feel it move beneath your feet.

The walkway runs three feet wide, which is enough room to stop, plant your feet, and look straight out at the falls without feeling rushed.

The Forest Service describes it as family-friendly, and that holds true from the first step to the last.

A helicopter flew in the steel cables

The bridge opened in 1997, and getting the materials to this remote canyon required a helicopter. Sahale, a company that builds bridges in hard-to-reach places, finished the work.

Before the trail existed, only a few anglers ever found this spot.

The bridge is dedicated to Scott Paul, a Forest Service foreman who died in a rigging accident during construction.

It is the longest pedestrian suspension trail bridge in any national forest in Oregon or Washington, though you won’t be thinking about records when you’re standing in the middle of it.

What you see from the center of the bridge

Once you reach the middle, stop walking. The waterfall drops 75 feet straight off the cliff face in front of you.

Below your boots, Drift Creek rushes over boulders you can see clearly through the open walkway. The trees frame everything on both sides.

The bridge shifts just enough to remind you how high up you are, but the wide deck holds steady under your feet.

That view, waterfall in front, canyon below, canopy at eye level, doesn’t come with most hikes of this distance.

Steel cables bolted into solid rock

The sway doesn’t mean it’s fragile. The bridge stretches 240 feet across the canyon, held up by two towers standing about 29 feet tall.

One end is anchored into solid rock, and the other is set into concrete. The Forest Service rates it to hold up to 165,000 pounds.

That’s the kind of number that makes the gentle bounce feel less dramatic. The deck is built to handle a crowd, and it does.

Walking through a coastal rainforest

The trail winds through one of the Coast Range’s denser forest stretches. Douglas fir and western hemlock rise high on both sides, and bigleaf maple fills in the gaps.

Moss covers nearly everything, the branches, the rocks, the downed logs beside the path. Ferns crowd the forest floor.

Sound disappears fast in here. The forest muffles everything except the creak of trees and, farther down, the sound of water.

It stays cool and damp even in summer.

The trail drops to the falls first

The hike runs roughly three miles round trip. The trail heads downhill from the parking area, which means the stretch back to your car is the hard part.

Small footbridges cross the side streams that trickle down to the main creek. The grade stays gentle enough for most ages.

Families with young kids do this trail regularly, and older hikers handle it without trouble. Plan on about an hour and a half for the out-and-back, more if you take your time on the bridge.

Branch off for old-growth trees

If you want more forest and fewer people, take the North Loop where it splits from the main trail. It leads through a stand of old-growth trees, the kind that took centuries to get that wide.

Vine maples grow low along this quieter path, and in the right season, huckleberry and salmonberry push through the undergrowth. The loop adds about a mile without adding much difficulty.

Most people skip it on the way in and pick it up on the way back.

Hear it before you see it

The trail gives you a long warning. Deep in the forest, the sound of the falls carries well before you reach the canyon edge.

You’ll hear the crash and rush of water, and the trees will still be closed around you. The North Fork of Drift Creek feeds the waterfall, dropping over the canyon wall and joining the main creek below.

When the trees finally break open and you see the full drop for the first time, it lands harder than you’d expect.

Walk down to the base of the falls

Past the bridge, an optional path drops down toward the creek below. The descent can be steep, and the footing gets muddy or slick depending on the season.

But the view from the bottom is worth the scramble.

Looking up from the canyon floor, you see the waterfall from below and the bridge stretched across the canyon above it.

The scale of the bridge doesn’t fully register until you’re standing under it, looking up at 100 feet of air between you and the walkway.

Eye-level with the treetops

Most forest trails keep you on the ground, looking up at the canopy. The bridge puts you inside it.

You cross through the upper layer of the forest, level with branches that normally require binoculars.

Birds move through the trees around you, and the mix of mist and moss gives the whole crossing a green, filtered light.

It’s a perspective the trail below never gives you, and it only lasts 240 feet, so take your time crossing.

A short hike that punches well above its weight

Drift Creek Falls works for nearly everyone: short enough for a half-day trip, easy enough for kids and older walkers, and dramatic enough that nobody leaves disappointed.

There’s a picnic table and viewing area near the bridge if you want to stop and eat.

The forest stays green year-round, the waterfall runs hardest in winter and spring, and the trail rewards you with three distinct payoffs: a canyon crossing, a waterfall view, and a treetop walk, all inside three miles.

Hike Drift Creek Falls Trail in Oregon

To reach Drift Creek Falls Trail, head south on Highway 101 from Lincoln City, turn onto Drift Creek Road, then follow Andersen Creek Road to Forest Service Road 17 and the trailhead. The address is on BLM Road 1770 near Otis, Oregon.

A day-use recreation pass is required: $5 per vehicle, or use a Northwest Forest Pass, Oregon Pacific Coast Passport, or eligible interagency pass.

The trail is open year-round from sunrise to sunset, though winter conditions can make it slick. Dogs are welcome on a leash no longer than 6 feet.

There’s no drinking water at the trailhead, so bring your own.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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