Yellow Dog Falls
Beautiful, remote, and including some very accessible drops, Yellow Dog Falls is a perfect place for just about anyone to visit. The long string of waterfalls (seven in total, depending on how you count) stretches down from County Road 510 and makes it almost halfway to 550 before settling down.
The main, uppermost waterfall can be reached via a wide, flat footpath, complete with log bridges over damp sections, and is the largest and most interesting drop. The river splits above a large jut of rock to create two separate drops that flow back together under the rock, then cascade down lower steps before emptying in a large, sandy pool perfect for swimming and wading. Some people even use this lower pool for panning, though more gold may lie much further downstream near Bushy Creek Falls.
Below the main drop are six more sizeable drops, ranging from mild, river-spanning rapids to angry chutes. None are quite as large as the main falls though some come close in terms of formation and scenery. If you follow the river all the way down, past the last waterfalls near a cabin, you’ll also find Brushy Creek Falls dropping directly into the Yellow Dog.
Directions
The bridge and parking area for the Yellow Dog Falls is just 6.7 miles down 510 from the northern terminus. Follow the path on the south side of the river downstream to the first waterfall. To view all the drops continue downstream, trying to stick to the south bank. If it gets to thick and you don’t have a problem walking across a cabin’s backyard cross to the north bank, which may be easier after the fifth drop. The final, seventh drop sits a few yards upstream of Bushy Creek Falls, flowing in on the north bank.
Photographs
Visits
Seen in July and September.
We reached the first drop with little issue and I took a few photos. The lighting wasn't that great today, not with the afternoon high in the sky and harsh shadows casting down over the falls. There was a few people near the pool below the falls wading through the cool water, and a gold pan nearby, barely used, betrayed their driving purpose for being here. The second drop is nowhere as impressive as the first one, with most of it hiding behind a huge boulder, though the large rock itself is pretty neat.
This waterfall is a fairly popular tourist attraction complete with a large shoulder for parking and well-trod footpaths down to the first drop, also known as Hill Falls. There are more drops downstream, falls that few visitors are interested in, so we continued down a narrowing path probably made by fishermen. By the time we reached the fourth drop we were pushing through the thick undergrowth, and I scooped up Logan and we crossed over a thin log perched above a roaring chute.
Leave a comment