Proxy Falls
Waterfall · Belknap Springs, Oregon
A plunge waterfall on the shoulder of North Sister, fed by a collection of springs and dropping into a canyon near McKenzie Pass in the Willamette National Forest, close to Belknap Springs. Its main drop of two hundred and twenty-six feet makes it one of the highest plunge waterfalls in Oregon. A short loop trail through an old lava flow and mossy forest reaches the base, and the fall spreads across a wall of moss rather than falling clear, which is what makes it photograph the way it does.
McKenzie Highway, Belknap Springs, Oregon, United States
⚠ SEASONAL, AND THE ACCESS ROAD IS THE REASON. Proxy Falls is reached from the McKenzie Highway, Oregon Route 242, which is a high mountain pass road subject to SEASONAL CLOSURE FOR SNOW - it is typically shut through the winter and into late spring, and the opening date moves year to year. ⚠ CHECK ODOT ROAD CONDITIONS BEFORE DRIVING OUT; when the pass is closed there is no other way in. A Northwest Forest Pass or day-use fee is required at the trailhead.