Benham Falls East Trailhead — Attraction in Sunriver

A nice walk through the woods to the largest waterfall on the Upper Deschutes River.

The gravel trail has some rocks in it until it turns toward the river.

It is hard to get a good look at the river through the trees, but this a viewing platform to see the falls.

You will hear the roar of the falls as you approach it.

The falls are not the traditional falls over a cliff, but more like a staircase.

You can turn around at this point or you can hike to the West Trailhead, which has a vault toilet

The East Trailhead is reached by taking the road from the Lava Lands Visitors Center for about four miles.

The parking lot and trail can fill up quickly as the day goes on.

A five dollar fee is required to visit the falls.

A nice side trip to Lava Lands with a hike through the woods...

About a . 75 mile trail out and back on the old RR track bed. It was nostalgic and a little sad for me as my grandfather was a foreman for Brooks Scanlon and most probably worked to build this exact bed and (now non-existent) track. Now he and it are just ghosts of history, some people might read a little bit about the history as they pass the little signs, but most probably won't .

The trail is open and sunny when you cross the old RR bridge. As soon as you reach a small ascent and round the corner, you are shaded for the rest of the way. At the falls there are side trails that go beyond the established railing, so use your head.

The trail is unpaved, and can be muddy or snowy if you go in the early s season. Just be...

Benham Falls is probably my favorite trailhead in Central Oregon. As a local I’ve probably hiked it god knows how many times.

The trail out to Benham Falls is extremely easy, wide trail and damn near perfectly flat all the way to the falls. The trail afterwards does continue however and you can hike for miles and miles without the beauty ever going away. The trail follows alongside the river and will lead you past numerous waterfalls.

If you’re looking for great trails to hike while in the area definitely make Benham one of those trails!

Some of these photos are from a little distance beyond Benham...