Upper Butte Creek Falls
Oregon · 26-foot drop · Santiam State Forest · Last verified 2026-05-15
Today at Upper Butte Creek Falls: mostly cloudy, 43°F. October averages 1.4 snow days here.
Right now
Overnight
43°F
Mostly Cloudy
Sunday
51°F
Rain
Today's daylight
Sunrise 7:38 AM · Sunset 6:09 PM · 10h 32m
Snapshot built 5m ago. Sources: NWS PQR.
Upper Butte Creek Falls is a waterfall in Marion County, Oregon. It drops roughly 26 feet. Access details and conditions have not yet been verified in person by Fallspots — the data on this page comes from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Upper Butte Creek Falls sits in Marion County, Oregon. The falls are inside Santiam State Forest. The base sits at roughly 1,975 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 16 minutes from Lyons. OpenStreetMap shows a trail within 10 meters of the marked location, though the name isn't recorded. This is one of the more frequently visited falls in the state by our popularity model. Source records come from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Entry is free. The approach is short and gentle enough for young kids.
Upper Butte Creek Falls, is a waterfall located in the south edge of the Table Rock Wilderness at the east end of the city of Salem, in Marion County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in a privileged area on the east foothills of Drake Crossing. Several prominent rivers and waterfalls are located in the Butte Creek Falls trail system.
When to go (from the climate data, not our opinion)
Monthly averages from Open-Meteo's reanalysis dataset (2020–2024). Highlighted months are when we think the waterfall is at its best — but the numbers are the numbers regardless.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip (in) | Snow days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 34 | 13.1 | 11.2 |
| Feb | 44 | 31 | 8 | 11.8 |
| Mar | 46 | 32 | 7.4 | 14.4 |
| Apr | 52 | 36 | 7.4 | 8.8 |
| May | 59 | 42 | 6.3 | 2 |
| Jun | 67 | 48 | 4.9 | 0.2 |
| Jul | 78 | 54 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Aug | 77 | 55 | 0.7 | 0 |
| Sep | 71 | 51 | 3.3 | 0 |
| Oct | 59 | 45 | 6.5 | 1.4 |
| Nov | 48 | 36 | 11.4 | 7.8 |
| Dec | 45 | 34 | 14 | 11.6 |
Source: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API · ERA5 reanalysis 2020–2024.
Compare to nearby falls
If this one isn't the right fit, here's how it stacks up against the closest documented falls. Every column is filterable on the site — not buried in 13,000 reviews.
| Waterfall | Distance | Height | Trail | Dogs | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Butte Creek Falls (this page) | — | 26 ft | — | — | Free |
| Butte Creek Falls | 0 mi | 79 ft | — | — | Free |
| Lower Butte Creek Falls | 0 mi | — | — | — | Free |
| Upper Abiqua Falls | 2 mi | — | — | — | — |
| Abiqua Falls | 3 mi | 92 ft | hard · 3.9 mi | N | Free |
| Fall Creek Falls | 3 mi | — | — | — | — |
Related waterfalls
Similar height (~26 ft)
- Black Eagle Falls26 ft
- Cooper Canyon Falls26 ft
- Drake Falls26 ft
- Falls Ridge Waterfall26 ft
- High Rock Falls26 ft
Questions visitors ask about Upper Butte Creek Falls
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
How tall is Upper Butte Creek Falls?
Upper Butte Creek Falls is 26 feet (8 m) tall. Height is sourced from OSM.
Is Upper Butte Creek Falls in a national or state park?
Yes — Upper Butte Creek Falls is inside Santiam State Forest. We inferred this from OpenStreetMap protected-area polygons; if you find we got the boundary wrong, please report it. See the park page for fees, hours, and current conditions.
Is there a fee to visit Upper Butte Creek Falls?
No entrance fee. Santiam State Forest is free to access. Some trailheads may charge a parking fee separately.
How far is Upper Butte Creek Falls from a major city?
Upper Butte Creek Falls is 11 miles from Lyons (about 16 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in Oregon
Where it is
44.9222, -122.5110
Sources and live status
Where we got the data, and where to check current conditions before you drive.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Butte_Creek_Falls
Wikidata (Q30624311)
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30624311
Last verified by Fallspots: 2026-05-15
Been there?
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