Tumalo Falls is one of the most popular hiking trail near Bend, Oregon. It is a very large waterfalls that people can see directly from the viewpoint. Through out the trail, there are even more waterfalls to see. The Tumalo Falls trail itself is about 4 miles long and goes all the way to Happy Valley. Most people hike to the Double Falls, which is about 1 mile from the parking lot.
We got to Tumalo Falls around 8AM in the morning. There were only 3 other cars there. The trail requires permit which can be purchased with $5. Northwest Forest pass is valid as well. When we got off the car, it was actually snowing from the sky in June! It was crazy! After about 5 minutes, the snow stopped and we walked to the viewpoint to see the waterfall. The viewpoint was at the top of the cliff, but the view was obstructed by the trees. So we walked down and found a small trail that goes to the river side and we could see the waterfall from below. It was a much better view here.
We then decided to do the Tumalo Falls hike to Happy Valley. We first got to Double Falls. This waterfall is not as tall as Tumalo Falls, but we had a great view of it from the top of the rock. We then proceed further and got to Middle Tumalo Falls.
When we hiked further and crossed the wooden bridge, it started to snow again. It was snowing so hard this time. The snow fake was huge! It did not feel very cold and the forest was beautiful with snow falling off the sky.
We continued on and got to see even more waterfalls. When we got to the last waterfall at North Fork Tumalo Falls, the snow was just getting too heavy and we were getting wet. We were about 0.5 miles away from Happy Valley but we decided to turn back.
When we got back to the parking lot, there was so many people. It was so crowded. Tumalo Falls was definitely an amazing place to visit and the hike did not disappoint. Since it is a popular place, it is recommended to get there as early as possible.
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