Sweet Creek, Oregon, photo hike

West of Eugene, most of the way out to the coast at
Florence and near the small burg of Mapleton, is
one of the coolest places I've ever been on a nature
hike. Fed by rain run-off, Sweet Creek has a nicely-
kept trail that goes for several miles beside this creek
with multiple waterfalls. With amazing vegetation all
around and bright seasonal wildflowers, this is a
don't-miss trek if you have any way at all to get here.

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O r e g o n
P h o t o T o u r s

Sweet Creek

Shoot Date: 6-18-2006

Paul and Ben start across a bridge near the trailhead. It's lush and emerald green and damp with the smells of water and vegetation.

View of the creek. Fed by rain run-off, the water's depth varies with the seasons. In early spring, this is a popular spot for kayakers, who trek up the trail, race down the rapids and then get out to do it again and again.

Flowers abound, including many of these, above, that I'm not familiar with. There are tiny white flowers, wild foxgloves, bright yellow buttercups, wild orange lilies and many other specimens that vary with the seasons.

All the way along the trail I kept thinking that if you were to start from scratch and build a wilderness and creek, this is exactly what you'd want it to look like. All the plants are fascinating and decorative, little works of art in their own right, as if they'd been hand-selected and carefully placed here for the most artistic effect.

Looking ahead as we trek toward the main falls