Deadman's Falls is a waterfall located at Wallowa region, Oregon. It is not a famous waterfalls like many others, but it does have its uniqueness. To get to Deadman's Falls, the hiking trailhead starts at Hurricane Creek Trailhead. This trailhead is about 15 minutes away from the town of Joseph. This trail was actually suggested to us by the ranger when we visited the information center at Joseph. The ranger told us that this was her favorite hike of all time and insisted us to try it!
The Hurricane Creek trail is a very popular trail with many day hikers and backpackers because this trail leads all the way into Wallowa Lake Basin. We got to the trailhead early in the morning around 8AM and there were already a few cars at the parking lot. We noticed that this trailhead requires $5 payment. Luckily, we have NW Forest Pass and did not have to pay for the permit.
Although Hurricane Creek trail is a popular trail, we did not run into any other hikers in the first 2 miles. The trail was very easy to hike on with little to almost no elevation gain. We hiked through beautiful meadows between the mountains and along the creek. We did saw some backpackers heading back and were surprised that they were not wearing any shoes!
We hoped that they did not step on any horse dumps.
Since the trail goes along the running Hurricane Creek, we could often hear the water rumbling through the rocky canyon. The view of the creek running through the rocks were magnificent. After about 3 miles into the trail, we finally reached the waterfall. Unlike many other waterfalls, Deadman's Falls did not have a lot of volume of water. We almost missed it.
In addition, while we sat down there and enjoy the view, a woman came by and started climbing on the rocky surface beside the waterfalls. She just kept climbing higher and higher and eventually got over to the top of the cliff. We were amazed with what she did, but not sure what she was looking for.
When we headed back to the car, we started to see more people hiking the trail. There were backpackers, and day hikers with their dogs and babies. This was an amazing trail with beautiful views. We wished that we could have more time and hike the entire 12 miles to Wallowa Lake Basin, which has stunning views as well.
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