Dillon Falls
Dillon Falls is a waterfall in Oregon, at a modelled elevation of 1,230 m. Mount Bachelor stands 2,764 m to the west, 14 miles off. The nearest named place is Benham Falls, a waterfall 1.3 miles away. Cascade Lakes passes 2.4 miles off.
The story
Dillon Falls are rapids on the Deschutes River in the U.S. state of Oregon near Bend in the Deschutes National Forest. Unlike the nearby Benham Falls, Dillon Falls are not widely documented because they are hard to see. Trails provide a somewhat better view of the falls. The falls were named after Leander Dillon, a nearby homesteader. He died in 1907. Dillon Falls starts off as a dramatic 15-foot (4.6 m) drop, then become a steep and violent Class-5 rapids with a hazardously positioned tree in the center before ending as class 2 and 3. Experienced rafters can run the falls before taking out at Lava Island Falls downstream.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q37428, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 2.4 mi off the Cascade Lakes, National
- 22.0 mi off the Oregon Outback, National
- 24.2 mi off the McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass, National
Overlooks nearby
- Arlies Rock/North Gateway Information Viewpoint · 2 mi
- Vista Butte Sno-Park · 10 mi
- Windy Point · 29 mi
- Three Sisters Viewpoint · 29 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Green Mountain: 2.9 mi
- Lava Butte: 3.9 mi
- Huntington Butte: 4.1 mi
- Sunset Hill: 4.6 mi
- Kiwa Butte: 5.4 mi
- Fort Rock Park: 4.7 mi
- River Rim Park: 4.9 mi
- Wildflower Park: 5.0 mi
- River Canyon Park: 5.3 mi
- Hollygrape Park: 5.3 mi
- Mountain Bike: 4.1 mi
- "Chicken": 4.8 mi
- Gilded River: 6.4 mi
- Mt. Bachelor Compass: 6.8 mi
- Sound Garden: 6.8 mi
- Benham Falls: 1.3 mi
- Tumalo Falls: 9.3 mi
- Double Falls: 10.1 mi
- Upper Tumalo Falls: 10.9 mi
- Fall River Falls: 12.6 mi
- Kiwa Springs: 3.6 mi
- Coyote Spring: 7.1 mi
- Cold Spring: 8.5 mi
- Jack Pine Spring: 8.8 mi
- Bull Spring: 10.5 mi
- Cinder Cone Natural Area: 4.6 mi
- Pinewood Natural Area: 8.9 mi
- Larkspur Natural Area: 9.0 mi
- Simonson Natural Area: 9.3 mi
- Magill's Landing Natural Area: 9.4 mi
- 1904 Miller Family Ranch and Sawmill: 3.7 mi
- Lava Lands Visitor Center: 4.3 mi
- Bob the Bend Rock: 8.7 mi
- High Desert Activity Center: 22.2 mi
- Redmond Caves Recreation Area: 23.2 mi
- Power lines cliff: 6.5 mi
- Cougar Buttress: 8.6 mi
- Look Out Point: 9.1 mi
- Tam McArthur Rim: 15.0 mi
- Miller's Landing Community Garden: 7.9 mi
- Franklin's Corner Community Garden: 9.0 mi
- Petersen Rock Garden: 18.5 mi
- Sisters Community Garden: 24.5 mi
- The High Desert Museum: 3.6 mi
- Deschutes Historical Museum: 8.3 mi
- Sisters Museum: 24.1 mi
- Veteran's Memorial: 8.7 mi
- Peace Statue: 8.9 mi
- Terrence Hardington Foley: 9.6 mi
- Meadow Day Use Area: 3.1 mi
- Beach Day Use Area: 19.5 mi
- Paulina Hot Springs: 17.8 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 14.2 miles of Dillon Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Bachelor | W 276° | 2,764 m | 13.8 mi |
| Tumalo Mountain | WNW 286° | 2,370 m | 11.9 mi |
| Tot Mountain | W 273° | 2,309 m | 13.7 mi |
| Kwolh Butte | W 268° | 2,243 m | 13.2 mi |
| Sheridan Mountain | WSW 255° | 2,100 m | 14.2 mi |
| North Kawak Butte | SSE 151° | 2,023 m | 14.0 mi |
| Vista Butte | WNW 285° | 2,017 m | 9.5 mi |
| Bearwallow Butte | NW 321° | 1,967 m | 10.8 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:10 | 18:40 | 19:18 |
| June solstice | 05:24 | 20:08 | 20:53 |
| September equinox | 06:54 | 18:27 | 19:05 |
| December solstice | 07:38 | 15:44 | 16:31 |
Local time (America/Los_Angeles).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 30 | 32 | 37 | 41 | 49 | 55 | 63 | 62 | 55 | 45 | 35 | 28 |
| Precip in | 2.9 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 3.2 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Sunriver, 5 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: May–Sep — fullest in Jul, leanest in Nov.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 906 | 967 | 1,028 | 1,306 | 1,750 | 1,947 | 2,075 | 1,940 | 1,662 | 1,150 | 850 | 881 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Deschutes R AT Benham Falls NR Bend, OR, 2 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/2789869573
Day trips start here
- Bend · 9 mi
Take the scenic way to Dillon Falls.
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