Cline Falls, on the Deschutes River (bobcat)

The Deschutes River at Cline Falls State Scenic Viewpoint (bobcat)

View downriver from Cline Falls (bobcat)

The route between Cline Falls State Scenic Viewpoint and Cline Falls (bobcat) Courtesy: Google Maps

• Start point: Cline Falls Trailhead
• End point: Cline Falls
• Hike type: In and out
• Distance: 1.6 miles
• Elevation gain: 30 feet
• High point: 2,860 feet
• Difficulty: Easy
• Seasons: All year
• Family Friendly: Yes
• Backpackable: No
• Crowded: On sunny weekends

Description

You’d be forgiven if you assumed that a state park named for Cline Falls actually showcased the waterfall, but that is not the case. However, a short walk down the Deschutes River from the park takes you onto Bureau of Land Management property, and there you will be able to view the waterfall. The falls themselves, a 20-foot drop over a basalt ledge, are more interesting in winter and spring, but once irrigation water is drawn from the river and the snow melt slows, they become a mere trickle.

To begin your hike, walk up the Deschutes River along the park loop road. There are picnic tables and access point to the river, which is very popular with fly fishermen. The state park is also a haul-out point for rafters and kayakers cruising the river. Geese and mallards may be begging for tidbits at the water’s edge. At the parking area at the south end of the park, there’s a boundary fence with private property, so return to the restroom area, where an informative display explains the history of the park and waterfall.

To get to Cline Falls, hike up the park entrance road. Take an obvious trail that leads down under the junipers above the Deschutes River. Red osier dogwood, spiraea, and canarygrass fringe the river itself. The trail comes to a wider juniper parkland and then diverts on a rockier tread to pass under the Highway 126 road bridge. You’ll reach another flat of juniper and bitterbrush, crossing part of the old highway where the Deschutes braids and spreads out. Soon, you’ll arrive above Cline Falls, and various spur trails take you to the rocks, a “fish ladder” chute, and vantage points to the falls.

The falls are named after Cass A. Cline, a Redmond dentist who owned this property in the late 19th century and founded the small settlement of Cline Falls, now completely gone. Cline sold his land to a power company, and a power plant was built on the west bank, just below Cline Falls, in 1912, with a dam pooling water above the waterfall. So much water was diverted from the Deschutes for irrigation later in the 20th century, however, that the power plant was abandoned. The dam and the power plant were removed in 2015.

You can continue on BLM land a little way downriver. There’s a rock climbing face in the basalt gorge here, but when you reach private property, please turn back.

Fees, Regulations, etc.

• Open dawn to dusk
• Information kiosk, restrooms, picnic areas
• Dogs on leash

Maps

• Maps: Hike Finder

Trip Reports

• Search Trip Reports for Cline Falls Hike

Related Discussions / Q&A

• Search Trail Q&A for Cline Falls Hike

Guidebooks that cover this destination

• Oregon State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide by Jan Bannan

More Links

• Cline Falls State Scenic Viewpoint (Oregon State Parks)
• Easy Walk to Cline Falls-Central Oregon (Roam Redmond Oregon)
• Cline Falls – Swimming & Hiking (Oregon Discovery)
• Cline Falls (All Trails)
• Cline Falls Climbing (Mountain Project)
• Cline Falls State Scenic Viewpoint (Wikipedia)
• Cline Falls (Wikipedia)
• Cline Falls (Oregon Waterfall Tour)
• Cline Falls (Northwest Waterfall Survey)

Page Contributors

• bobcat (creator)