Oregon was given a beautiful weekend recently and my sister and I could not help but venture out to enjoy the sunshine.  We headed west out of town and into the heart of the Tillamook State Forest.  We first made a stop at the forest center which had information we needed and great exhibits.  The center is right along the Wilson river and connects to the river trail.
We then continued driving west to a big pullout/trailhead along the river somewhere near mile marker 20, I think.  There is a bridge across the river at this spot.  Bridge Creek Falls is practically right next to the highway across from this pullout, though it could be easy to miss when driving.  We parked and took the short trek up to the falls.
From there we went back across the highway and crossed over the river, stopping on the bridge to view the vitamin D-deprived northwesterners that were cliff-jumping, fishing, floating and soaking up the sun.  On the other side of the bridge, we connected to the Wilson River trail.  We were a little confused about the trail here and there, but it wasn’t too bad.  The Wilson River Trail actually extends 11 miles along the river through the forest which is great.  We followed it eastish about 1.5 miles to Wilson falls where we stopped and enjoyed the sunshine and a snack.
Both of the falls we visited were nice and made for a simple day out with plenty of photo opportunities.  We had planned on another hike up to University Falls on the way back to town, but we killed a lot of time enjoying the sunshine and exploring the forest center and campgrounds.  It will be a great new hike for another day!
Once again, a short trip outside of Portland has proved to be a rich and refreshing getaway and I look forward to going back.