When I heard there was a Niagara Falls in Oregon, I knew we had to see it. How could two waterfall adventurers not see a waterfall named Niagara Falls? At about two hours’ drive from Portland, it seemed like a great hike to explore on our way out to the coast for the weekend.

It turns out getting to the Niagara Falls trailhead is an adventure in itself. After three attempts (and giving up once), we found the falls! In today’s post, I’ll share everything you need to know about Oregon’s Niagara Falls…and how to get to this beautiful waterfall without getting lost three times.

So, let’s dive into the three easy ways to get lost looking for the Niagara Falls trailhead.

1- Following Google Maps to Niagara Falls, Oregon

“You have arrived,” said Google.

Our tires ground to a halt on the dirt road. I looked up from the Harry Potter book I’d been reading aloud from the passenger seat.

We peered through the windshield at a locked gate. On the other side of the gate was definitely not a trailhead, and it definitely was someone’s house.

Beyond the little patch of trees and undergrowth surrounding the gate, a landscape of wide farm fields spread over rolling hills. Here and there a stand of scraggly Oregon white oaks rose from the grasses. This was not the habitat for a mossy forest hike to a waterfall.

That’s because we were in totally the wrong place.

My memory flashed back to a high school friend who’d accidentally followed the freeway in the wrong direction. He didn’t notice he wasn’t en route to Seattle until he started seeing signs for California. At least, I reflected, as we stared through the locked gate, I hadn’t followed my phone to another state.

I opened the Niagara Falls entry on the AllTrails app. Our GPS marker was on the map, but it was nowhere near the trail.

2 – Following the Second Suggestion from Google Maps

“Well, I can see where the trailhead’s supposed to be.”

I flicked back and forth between the AllTrails map and Google Maps, making sure Google Maps was now honing in on the right target.

In a few minutes, we were rumbling back down the dirt road the way we’d come, trying not to focus on the additional hour and a half of driving around. I opened Harry Potter again.

Twenty minutes in, Google made an announcement. There was a faster route!

I eagerly hovered over the “Accept” button. Then I hesitated. I scrutinized the map.

“Oh my Gosh,” I said. “It was going to send us back to that same dead-end!”

It wasn’t a fluke when it didn’t work the first time. Google Maps is just pretty sure this hike is in the farm fields. I don’t recommend navigating to the trailhead with a Smartphone alone.

3 – Getting Stuck in the Snow

I proceeded to read the map on my phone instead of running the automatic navigation. Soon we were happily on our way again toward the elusive Niagara Falls.

But then we started to see snow.

“How could there be snow?”

“I suppose we’re technically in the mountains…and it’s February.”

The Coast Range mountains are not high, so I hadn’t even considered snow. But the snow only deepened as we bumped along toward the trailhead.

Soon it was covering the narrow Forest Service road. Our little sedan with its standard tires began slipping a little on the slick snow-mud track.

“No,” I sighed. “Let’s just skip it.”

Not that it’s ever a good idea to get stuck in a snow drift far from cell reception, but I was also 7 months pregnant.

How to Actually Get to the Niagara Falls, Oregon Trailhead

After the dead-end and the snow, we had finally abandoned our plan to see Oregon’s Niagara Falls, and had set our sights on getting to the Neskowin Ghost Forest on the coast in time for low tide.

“Hey, check out that sign!” Bryan suddenly exclaimed.

A brown sign by the roadside said, “Niagara Falls Trail,” with a left-turn arrow.

I hesitated. I’ll admit my millennial instincts distrusted the idea of following physical road signs. What if signs weren’t installed at later intersections? We might start in the right direction and then find ourselves in a series of choose-your-own-adventure road junctions down the line. Probably we would end up lost in the dirt roads forever. In the snow.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s try it….”

And to our amazement, we were soon pulling into the small parking lot at the Niagara Falls trailhead, feeling hugely accomplished just for getting to the start.

If you likewise find yourself desperately wondering how to get to the Niagara Falls, Oregon trailhead, here’s my recommended approach after our experiment with all the options:

Navigate to the road junction at the following coordinates: 45.251593580019694, -123.64361428399647. From there, use the phone directions and road signs together to finish out the route to the Niagara Falls trailhead.

Why is Oregon’s Niagara Falls called Niagara Falls?

It turns out Niagara Falls, Oregon is not named because of a resemblance to the famous Niagara Falls. Instead it takes its name from a nearby mountain peak called Niagara Point!

Other Things You Should Know about the Hike to Niagara Falls, Oregon

You’ll actually find two fabulous waterfalls on the Niagara Falls hike–Niagara Falls and Pheasant Creek Falls. Niagara Falls is one of those mesmerizingly intricate waterfalls, and Pheasant Creek Falls a tall plunge waterfall. For a virtual tour of the Niagara Falls hike highlights, check out our video below.

Other Adventures in the Pacific Northwest

For more adventure ideas in the Pacific Northwest, check out our PNW Trip Planner. You can find adventures near you and filter by season and difficulty level. There are weird and wonderful things to explore any time of year. The trip planner links to blog posts to help you plan your next adventure.

Happy exploring!