Road Trip: McDowell Creek

I have to say, I am so glad we got this hike in before the 100 degree weather hit. Yesterday we got well over 110! Our poor black doggies were hot, hot, hot. We always try to accommodate them in the summer, like shaving fur, ice in their water, bringing them inside, but it's so dry that even we are all pretty toasty inside the house. The Bean has been slipping up and down his Slip-n-Slide on a regular basis this week and The Mr. and I have even joined him. So with that I can say that this hike would have been a pretty sweaty and honestly miserable time had we gone now, but the day we went it was a beautiful, cool day and was really enjoyable.

McDowell Creek is sort of the Valley's hidden secret. I don't believe it makes any travel brochures to any great detail, and if you live around the area, it is a great place to head to just to get some nature therapy and enjoy the hidden gem of Linn County. We tend to frequent this place a lot throughout the years past and the scenery always changes with the seasons. It's a great place to check out during all four season just to see the difference.

There's two falls along the path we took, Royal Terrace Falls and one we call "Horsetail Falls". It isn't named Horsetail Falls, but we gave it that name as you can see in the picture below. The one pictured above is Royal Terrace Falls and the one below is an extension of that falls, but we like to refer to it as the "Horsetail Falls."

This falls is the one we refer to as "Horsetail Falls," for good reason. The water running down the rocks looks like a horse's tail.

It's a beautiful area to explore and hike.

The steps leading to the top of the falls is a workout, but once you reach the top there's plenty of places to take your mind off the five stories you just climbed. The photo above was part of my Instagram story. I try to do a story for every road trip we take, so follow along so you can see each one.