South Umpqua Falls

If you are early enough, you can park at the designated day use parking area, which is where the bathroom is. There are picnic benches there along with a path to the top of the falls. If you want to be where the real action is, take the dirt trail down to the bottom of the falls which is less than 1/4 mile hike.  There is a slight incline but nothing too worrisome for even the novice hiker.  You will find yourself on a huge rock beach, where you can plant yourself to the right just within sight of one of the jump-off spots. If you head straight ahead, you will see the falls where the natural water slides and platform diving happen.  There are also shallow swimming areas and smaller falls for kids to play around safely.  Just be cautious when walking around, there are slippery spots.  One tip, when you are walking up to the falls, stay off of the black spots on the rocks, that is where they are the slipperiest.  Walk on the clean rocks or moss to get to the top without a problem.