Looking for an easy winter trek with a big payoff? Even first-time snowshoers can handle the flat, 1-mile trail to Salt Creek Falls, the state’s second tallest waterfall. Was that too easy? Confident snowshoers can continue on a tougher 3-mile loop to an icy grotto with a bonus cascade, Diamond Creek Falls.
You’ll need to bring a Sno-Park permit, available for $5 at outdoor stores. And if you want to end the day with a soak in a hot springs pool, you’ll also need a Northwest Forest Pass, for another $5.
When you drive Highway 58 toward Willamette Pass in search of snow, the Salt Creek Falls Sno-Park is often the first place you’ll find enough of the white stuff to have some fun. It’s at milepost 57, a mile past the tunnel, and 5 miles before the top of the pass…