Deschutes Falls Park
Deschutes Falls Park was recently reopened after being closed for many years. It was bought by Thurston County about 25 years ago and has been closed since. It is located about 15 miles from the town of Yelm, it's address is 25005 Bald Hill Rd. I grew up in Yelm but I had never been to it, so I knew I would have to go as soon as it reopened. I had no idea what to expect, there was little information about it, all I knew was that there was going to be waterfalls so I was excited.
The parking lot is not very big so get there early if you can. We arrived a few minutes after it opened and the parking lot was pretty full already. There is a caretaker on the premises, he came over and helped us park, we have a really big truck so he told us we could back in next to the logs so we did not get stuck between cars. He is very helpful and friendly. He has a mobile home on the property so he can manage it all hours of the day and night. I have read that many people still went to the falls even when it was closed so having a caretaker should help with people not going into the park after closing time.
After you park you will want to use the port a potty if you need to use the bathroom, there is no bathroom once you start walking. The caretaker told us that putting a bathroom in by the falls is a top priority and he hopes it will be started soon. I agree that a bathroom would be important to have closer to the falls. Plus there was only on port a potty and it was very full so it was not a good experience. The caretaker also said there are plans for picnic tables to be put by the falls, which would be a nice addition. It would be a nice place to take a picnic to. I know a lot of the trails to go to waterfalls are a lot longer so it is hard to take small children but this one is short enough to take the kids and enjoy lunch!
Once you start walking down the trail you will see that it splits off a little ways down, if you go to the right you will see the falls, the left takes you down to the river. We went to the right first, there is a fenced off area for viewing the falls. It was beautiful! We took some pictures there then continued down the trail to the river. Once you get to the river you can walk next to the river or get in it. It is a nice place to go on a hot day. When we were at the river there were only a few other people there but when we left there was a lot of people walking down the trail towards the river, it looks like it can get pretty crowded there.
This is a nice trail for a family to walk on, it is not very long and you can bring a stroller or jogger for the trail itself but it would have to be parked before you go down to the river, the walk down to the river is steep and not stroller friendly. We had our 5 year old son with us and he did great walking down the trail and also down to the river. We kept a close eye on him by the river, the rocks can be slippery so we did not want him to fall in. There are places you can get in the river and swim, we did not swim this time, my son had a cast on his arm so he could not get wet, besides his feet, which he loved!
It is a very pretty walk and the river is beautiful. If you want a quick walk, this is perfect. It is nice on a hot day to have a quick walk that ends in the river. Like I mentioned above, you should get there early. When we left the parking lot was completely full and cars were parked down the street on both sides. I am sure it will not continue to be as busy as it was when we went since it had just reopened but the parking lot is not very big so plan ahead! The caretaker said they had over 1300 visitors the first three days it was opened. That's not bad for a little park so far away from everything! The park is a day use park only so there is no overnight camping.
