Oregon State Archives: A 1940 Oregon Coast Tour

...at 4.8 m. [Southbound from Astoria] meets Miles Crossing Road.

At 10 m. the road loops around Youngs River Falls.

Northwest Waterfall Survey: Youngs River Falls

Youngs River Falls is both tormented and coveted and remains a testament that nature will, in the end, take care of itself. Here, the Youngs River hurtles over a large wall, veiling 54 feet into a pool locked in by large gravel bars. The falls are somewhat unique in that the base is located only about 10 feet above sea level - a modest tsunami could easily wash all the way to the falls. The falls have been featured in several movies, most notably Free Willy 2 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 (don't hold it against the waterfall for choosing bad movies). Partially due to this fame but mostly due to its close proximity to the city of Astoria, the falls are a popular place for the locals to recreate and swim, and as a result the area hasn't exactly been kept in the best of shape. Litter has often strewn the area, making it a place not desirable to linger. However, as said above, nature knows how to take care of itself. When visiting the falls notice the pile of logs up against the cliff to the right of the falls - some stacked 15-20 feet above the water line. This is the most obvious direct evidence of the massive scale of flooding the Youngs River can experience - most recently the December 2004 event that ravaged much of northern Oregon was probably responsible for many of those logs. The banks adjacent to the falls were scoured clean, the gravel bars downstream which formerly were populated with 7 foot tall brush were stripped bare, and there was some rather serious erosion near where the trail from the parking area descends. Fortunately such floods do not occur frequently and the falls are much more commonly enjoyable in a less violent setting.

Youngs River was discovered in 1792 by William Robert Broughton of the Vancouver Expedition, and named for Admiral Sir George Young of the Royal Navy, however the falls were not seen at this time. Credit to discovery of the falls lies with Patrick Gass, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition who was leading a hunting party on March 1, 1806 and made note of the falls in his journal. No mention was made of whether or not Lewis or Clark visited the falls themselves, and the party left Fort Clatsop within 3 weeks of the discovery of the falls.

Total Height: 54 feet

Tallest Drop: 54 feet

Num of Drops: 1

Avg. Width: 45 feet

Max. Width: 55 feet

Pitch: 90 degrees

Run: 25 feet

Form: Veiling Horsetail

Watershed: Columbia River (below Portland)

Stream: Youngs River

Avg. Volume: 150.0 cu ft/sec

Flow Consistency: 12 months

"In July 2014, Tod Gary Wagoner, of Williamsburg, Colorado, died after jumping from the falls, the 'first [such] fatality at the falls in a while.'^[3] In April 2016, Joseph T. Nestor, a 34-year-old Astoria man, fell and died from injuries at the falls.^[4]"

Video (By Others...)

Links

CLICK HERE to continue exploring the highway