I had spent part of the week in a hotel in Medford for a work conference and was excited that at the end, some coworkers wanted to go on an adventure in route home. We picked up supplies in Medford, and visited National Falls a little past where we were camping on Union Creek.
National falls was lovely, powerful, and woodsy.
We enjoyed exploring this waterfall for a bit and feeling the spray after the warm drive.
Back at the campsite, we enjoyed a fire and a lovely meal.
We were camped right next to the Rogue River. I took a hike up to the Rogue Gorge.
Rogue Gorge was amazing!
We enjoyed a restful night by the river and the next day took a hike to the natural bridge.
Hiking by the river was great and the natural bridge area was really interesting. It is cool to see how lava has shaped so much of this area.
We spent some time at the natural bridge and then hiked back to the campsite.
Since my colleges did not get to see Rogue Gorge, we headed back there in the car.
The water down below was so clear and powerful!
It was nice to see it for a second time!
After enjoying the Rogue Gorge we continued to drive the loop past Diamond Lake. The directions I had turned into Clearwater falls via an earlier turn. The road ended abruptly so we hiked down the road to the waterfall. On the other side there was a paved picnic area and info. Our way was more fun!
The water was pretty clear and I loved all the mosses!
I took a little time to put my feet up.
Next we visited Whitehorse falls. This one had a large pool at the bottom. If I hadn't been sitting in a car and the bugs weren't so bad, I might have been tempted to jump in.
Little Whitehorse falls was small but very pretty.
I spent a little time checking out the rock in the middle of the stream.
The next waterfall we visited was called Watson Falls. This one required a bit of a hike up to a viewpoint.
The cliff was impressive. This was not a swimming waterfall but it was quite the long drop.
Our final waterfall of the day was Toketee Falls. I really enjoyed this tree to welcome us on to the trail.
Toketee Falls was really unique with the rock formations around it.
We enjoyed gazing at this last waterfall from the viewpoint which felt like climbing into a treehouse for a view.
We set up camp for the night at Toketee Lake.
The lake was pretty but the bugs were pretty heavy so it was hard to enjoy for very long. My coworker had a cast iron sandwich maker that was really fun to use in the fire.
There were still a few wildflowers near the lake.
In the morning before heading home I decided to take a hike on the Umpqua River.
I kept my layers on to protect from bugs, whenever I paused even briefly for a picture they came after me.
I enjoyed this mossy trail and the hike along the water.
I made it almost to the hot springs but decided there was no way I was going to remove layers of clothing due to the swarm of bugs and it looked like there was potentially a tricky stream crossing, so I decided my morning hike had gone far enough and headed back. It was great to spend time with coworkers and see a new part of Oregon. What a lot of amazing waterfalls!
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