The geology around Bend, Oregon, has been dominated by extensive volcanism over the last few million years. Repeated glacial advances and retreats have also extensively modified the terrain, and the interplay of these processes has led to spectacular scenery.
Tumalo (pronounced “TUM-uh-loh”) Falls is an outstanding example. Located in a heavily forested area, this waterfall flows over an overhanging lip, made by a resistant lava flow, to drop freely almost 100 feet into a glacier-carved canyon. Scars from a major fire in the vicinity in 1979, the Bridge Creek Fire, linger but are now much less obvious due to decades of regrowth.
Several other waterfalls occur upstream on Tumalo Creek, and are worth the extra effort—not least because the crowds drop off above Tumalo Falls itself. The first upper fall is about a mile farther up the trail, and the second is about a quarter mile beyond that.
Know Before You Go
The Tumalo Falls trailhead is reached on a graded dirt road on which passenger cars should be fine in the warm months in dry weather. (The site is not accessible to wheeled vehicles at all in the wintertime.) To get there, take Skyliners Road (also known as US Forest Service 4601 to the west) 8.7 miles west from the roundabout at Mount Washington Drive in Bend. Bear right at a shallow intersection and go 0.2 miles to the intersection with Bearwallow Road (on the right). Go left here, where the road becomes graded, and go 2.4 miles to the trailhead parking.
A National Forest Recreation Pass is required, and there is a vending station near the trailhead. A Federal interagency pass (Golden Eagle or equivalent) is also valid.
Parking is very limited on summer weekends as the area is popular locally. Dogs on lead are OK on Tumalo Trail itself, but the City of Bend Watershed lies just west of Tumalo Creek. No dogs, stock (including horses), or bicycles are permitted on trails in the watershed.
