January 5, 2013

One of our favorite trips is to find a reason to go down to Tillamook on the Oregon coast.  I love anything Tillamook.  Needless to say when we go down that way for waterfalls we find ourselves at the factory eating cheese and getting ice cream.  Yum... can't wait to find another reason to go down there.

We didn't quite get off on the right foot because Stafford Falls is best seen from the other side of the river.

# 10  Stafford Falls (road side ~ easy access)

Which in January is way too cold for my tastes.  Although we do plan to go back, to which I hope Tillamook will be a feasible stop.  Unfortunately this trip the sides of the road were caked in snow.  Which also limited out ability to do other falls.  Yet snow shots do pose for some nice views in certain occasions.

Next up we drove up to Fern Rock Falls.  There is a big turnout, which was covered in snow, but we still managed to find a good enough place to park.

# 11  Fern Rock Falls  (road side ~ easy access)

Down the highway Wilson Falls was our next waterfall.  Last year we had hiked the trail all the way to the fall.  This year we discovered a much better view was from the base of the fall.  It's a little off-trail from a powerline road, but was well worth it.

# 12  Wilson Falls  (bushwhack ~ easy access)

The hiking trail is pretty, but takes a while.  In the end the trail puts you in the middle of the fall, which doesn't provide a good shot.  We were both happier for this angle.

Practically right around the corner up the road were the next couple of waterfalls we got.

# 13  Lower Bridge Creek Falls  (trail ~ easy access)

    

# 14  Bridge Creek Falls  (trail ~ easy access)

We got back to the car and warmed up a bit before reaching Munson Creek Falls.  This was the first year that we managed to get a good shot of the falls, that is not having the sun blasting out some part of the fall.

# 15  Munson Creek Falls  (trail ~ easy access)

Next up we got cheesy.  That is we worked our way over to the Tillamook factory.  Got plenty of free delicious cheese samples and I took forever trying to decide what ice cream scoops to get.  Tillamook definitely has my love.

Tillamook Factory

The next two waterfalls are quite neat.  I say this because they dump right onto the beach.  Blumenthal Falls is a little bit of a hike to get to, but worth it.  Often on the trail you'll see surfers as it's a favored spot for that. 

# 16  Blumenthal Falls  (trail ~ moderate access) 

Whereas with Hug Point Falls isn't as visible.  If you go to the parking lot for Hug Point, just down the stairs there is a rock ridge (Hug Point) off to the right.  Hug Point Falls is just around the corner from that rock ridge.  Which I think is pretty neat, but sad because when the tide is high getting to the falls can get very... tricky.  We got there and the tide was a little bit high, however we still accomplished a few good shots.

# 17  Hug Point Falls  (around rock ridge ~ easy access)

Finishing the day off we managed to barely squeeze in Fishhawk Falls.  The sun was setting and the drive took a bit, yet we were determined to get the shot.  We got a little distracted by a field of elk.  Although we got what we came for.

# 18  Fishhawk Falls  (trail ~ easy access)

herd of elk