A short hike from a forest road above Ashland reveals Bybee Gulch and Lost Creek Falls.
Just 18 miles outside of Ashland, Oregon, a waterfall with two pools is nestled in a deep gulch. You will venture out of Ashland near I-5 exit 14 on Greensprings Highway 66 / Ashland Street. Make a left on Dead Indian Road to drive up into the hills. Your next turn will be a left on THE FIRST Shale peak road (yes, there are two ends looping back on Dead Indian).
Ask Google to navigate to “Bybee Gultch.” It will reroute. There is a left but Google is pretty close. Follow road until you are getting closer to your Destination. Take the last available left BEFORE Google tells you to. On Google it looks like a short road, but it is not. That road can be a little muddy but not horrible, and accessible with a car (everything here is at your own risk of course). Follow it until the road is blocked by a yellow forest service gate.
It’s a fairly short, under a mile walk from there. Walk the road beyond the gate and it will turn down hill, then shrink to a foot path. It dumps you out into the open meadows and rock faces at the top of the gulch. The view is breathtaking.
To hike down to the lower pool, cross small streams at the top, near the upper pool. There is a trail on the other side of the falls. You will find the pools full in the winter and spring. There is less water flow in the late summer and fall, but it does flow and looks great.
You will find links to videos of the falls, the hike and and a drone view on this page. To see even more photos and videos from this trip, join Southern Oregon Outdoors – Photos, Views, Hikes, 4×4 Runs on Facebook. You will find videos on this page from another source on YouTube, and also that link to entries for this hike in the Facebook group.
by Ryan & Kerri Mallory