Last August fire crews stopped a blaze from burning one of the prettiest old-growth forests within an hour’s drive of Eugene. Today the road from Cottage Grove to Brice Creek still has “Thank You Firefighters” signs.
The trail along Brice Creek leads past small waterfalls and swimmable pools under the canopy of big old trees. A quarter-mile stroll takes you to the largest of the pools. For a longer hike, continue upstream another 3.7 miles to the ferny grotto of Trestle Creek Falls.
The route is easy enough for children and is open to mountain bikers. No permits are required and parking is free. A paved road unobtrusively parallels the trail on the creek’s opposite shore, making access easy at several points.
To start, drive Interstate 5 to Cottage Grove exit 174 and follow signs east to Dorena Lake. Continue on the main, paved road a total of 18.6 miles from the freeway, passing the reservoir and the settlements of Dorena and Culp Creek. At a large paved fork, follow the yellow center line to the right onto Brice Creek Road.
After 3.3 miles on Brice Creek Road, just after a junction with Holland Point Road, you’ll reach the first of four Brice Creek Trailheads, a large parking lot on the right. You could start your hike here, but to park closer to the swimmable pools, drive another 1.2 miles to the Cedar Creek Campground.
Park by an outhouse to the left of the campground entrance and walk a 150-foot-long footbridge across Brice Creek. Then turn right on the Brice Creek Trail through a mossy forest of Douglas-fir and red cedar. Sword ferns, oxalis and twinflower thrive here.
A quarter mile beyond is a charming, 8-foot waterfall surrounded by smooth rock terraces ideal for sunbathing or picnicking. Children can play on a small cobble beach nearby, while swimmers will find the clear, 15-foot-deep pool beside the terrace tempting, although the water is very cold.
Many people turn back here, but it’s worth continuing. The next mile of trail passes half a dozen other creekside sites almost as attractive.
At the 1.8-mile mark the trail climbs a bluff to a viewpoint 300 feet above the creek. When the path finally returns to the creek you’ll reach a fork. The path to the right crosses a footbridge to Lund Park Campground, so keep left. After another 0.6 miles the Trestle Creek Trail forks up to the left. This is a possible side trip, climbing 1.6 miles to a small upper falls, but the trail is steep and slippery with loose gravel. Instead, continue straight on the Brice Creek Trail another half mile to a footbridge over Trestle Creek. Just before the bridge, turn left on a trail that follows Trestle Creek 0.3 miles to the trail’s end in a rock gorge at 50-foot Trestle Creek Falls. This is a good place to declare victory before heading home.
As you hike back down Trestle Creek you might wonder, “Where’s the trestle?”
If you look closely you can see the rock abutments for a long-vanished water flume bridge where the Brice Creek Trail crosses Trestle Creek. The flume once brought water to a small power plant at what is now Lund Park Campground.
Note that Lund Park was never actually a park. It was originally a wayside inn popular with travelers to the Bohemia gold mining district in the late 19th century. The hotel at Lund Park was named for its owners, Alex Lundgren and Tom Parker. With similar profundity, Brice Creek is a drawling commemoration of Frank Brass, an early prospector who once fell into the stream.
If you think those names are arcane, consider as you drive back to Cottage Grove along Row River Road that Row River rhymes with “cow liver,” and was named for two early miners who had an argument there — a row.
A hike at Brice Creek is a trip through history — not only the history of a pioneer mining district, but also of an ancient forest that narrowly escaped fire.
William L. Sullivan is the author of 24 books, including The Ship in the Ice and the updated “100 Hikes” series for Oregon. Learn more at OregonHiking.com.