STEAMBOAT —

Waterfalls, like butterflies, touch the human soul.

A waterfall seems to hold a life force that transcends its inanimate nature. In its roar, it shouts “Whee! Look at me!” as it plummets from a cliff top, pours into a pristine pool or tumbles down a rocky streambed. Like the mythical Jonathan Livingston Seagull, it claims a freedom of spirit, releasing its very essence to crash onto boulders, only to survive and press onward as if it had never taken the fall.

On a recent weekend trip to the scenic North Umpqua River, I could not resist the waterfalls’ calls. I focused my outing along state Highway 138, which follows the North Umpqua nearly to its source in the Mount Thielsen Wilderness and sends branches out along several tributary streams.

Steamboat Inn

I based myself at the Steamboat Inn, midway between Roseburg and Diamond Lake on Highway 138. Rustic luxury can perhaps best describe this inn, which has seven houses and eight duplex units beside the river, plus another five cottages above tributary Steamboat Creek.

I was in one of the latter, featuring a loft, a fireplace and a huge soaking tub. Huge rhododendron bushes in full pink and purple bloom lined the deck and a lawn that I shared with two other cottages. A grand fir, a yew and a Douglas fir peeked through the windows, all wearing fresh sprigs of spring green.

Dinnertime at the main lodge was a real social event for guests. We gathered in a library building for 7 o’clock wine and hors d’oeuvres, then shared long tables in the lodge, where gourmet meals are served family style. My first evening, that meant grilled salmon.

The second night’s meal was a wine-tasting dinner, something the Steamboat Inn offers frequently in spring. Chef Nick Peirano, owner of Nick’s Cafe, and winemaker Steve Cary, of Yamhill Valley Vineyards, made the drive down from McMinnville to present a meal of crab-and-pine nut lasagna and rosemary-marinated rack of lamb, accompanied by a variety of pinot noirs and other vintages. It was one of those evenings that inspire you to dawdle for hours with good wine and new friends. Indeed, the Steamboat Inn’s slogan is: “You are a stranger here but once.”

At breakfast, the North Umpqua River was stunning as it flowed past a rocky outcropping beside the inn. I took my coffee outside and down a short trail to a rocky outcropping. The scene looked like something out of a Maxfield Parrish painting, lacking only the Sybaritic nymph who brushes her long hair as multiple rapids slice around boulders and through lush islands.

A fishing resort

The Steamboat Inn has been owned by Jim and Sharon Van Loan since 1975, a long spell in the hospitality business. Jim Van Loan left the book-publishing business to purchase the Steamboat Inn (then the North Umpqua Lodge) rather than pursue his profession in a larger city. “We sold our home in Corvallis and moved here,” he recalled. “I had worked here when I was in school (at Oregon State University). We actually wanted to move to Bend, but the place came up for sale.”

The first lodge and cabins were built in 1957 to cater to steelhead fly fishers on the North Umpqua. Earlier, dating back to the 1930s, the site had been a popular fishing camp, with author Zane Grey among its regular visitors, according to the inn’s Web site.

“We always thought of ourselves as a fishing resort, not as a country inn,” Van Loan said. But improvements and changing public demand led them to develop an upscale, gourmet clientele, and today the Steamboat Inn is a member of the Unique Inns group, along with such other properties as the Winchester Inn of Ashland, the Campbell House Inn of Eugene and the Lodge at Suttle Lake.

The Steamboat Inn does retain strong appeal for fishermen, however. Because the surrounding 31 miles of river are considered one of the premier steamboat streams in North America, they are designated fly-fishing only, catch-and-release with barbless hooks. Fish taken here average eight pounds, with occasional 15-pounders taken. The inn maintains a well-stocked fly shop with everything from custom rods to waders to flies tied specifically for this river.

Falling for water

But the steelhead season was just getting under way, and I hadn’t come to fish. As I had arrived on a Friday afternoon, Saturday was my day for exploration.

My map showed 11 major waterfalls on or very near state Highway 138. I sought out five of them, starting with Steamboat Falls, a 25-foot drop beside a fish ladder, six miles up Steamboat Creek Road (Forest Road 3810) from my cottage.

I found Toketee Falls the most impressive. About 20 miles east of Steamboat (at milepost 59), I turned left on the road to the Toketee Ranger Station (Forest Road 34), crossed a bridge and turned left again to a parking area.

From there, it was a half-mile hike — partly on a track through old-growth forest, partly across a marvelously engineered boardwalk and hardwood stairway — to a sturdy hanging platform with a stunning view of these falls.

Cutting a narrow gorge through a sheer cliff of columnar basalt was a spectacular tiered fall, dropping first about 40 feet into a small pool, then about 100 feet into a much larger pond.

The word “toketee” is said to be Chinook Indian for “pretty” or “graceful,” and these falls certainly are that. I looked for a trail to the foot of the falls that would enable me to dive in for a swim, but, alas, there was none.

So I returned to my car and continued my exploration. A couple of miles on down the highway, a turnoff onto Forest Road 37 put me at a trailhead for Watson Falls. After a brief uphill walk, I stood on a bridge reminiscent of the one at Multnomah Falls in the Columbia Gorge, but at a site much less commercial and much more secluded. Plunging 272 feet off a basalt cliff, Watson Falls is the fourth-highest falls in Oregon. It is truly a sight to behold.

My next stop was Whitehorse Falls, a pretty punch-bowl waterfall with a drop of about 15 feet beside a campground five miles past Watson Falls. More impressive was Clearwater Falls, reached from a campground at milepost 70 on state Highway 138. A quarter-mile trail led to this lovely segmented cascade, which dropped 35 feet over moss-covered rocks and logs.

I broke my drive with a sandwich at the Diamond Lake Resort, which had its fireplace roaring on this cool and misty day. At 3 1/2 miles long, Diamond — one of the sources of the North Umpqua — is of similar size to Crescent and Davis lakes nearer to Bend, and its restored trout fishery has spurred an increase in seasonal business. Not far away is little Lemolo Lake, whose far-more-rustic resort attracts visitors year-round.

I returned to the Steamboat Inn in plenty of time for an afternoon nap before the big Saturday night dinner. And I was grateful that I didn’t have to check out until 11 on Sunday morning. I needed the extra rest before the 2 1/2-hour return drive to Bend.

VISITING THE NORTH UMPQUA

EXPENSES (for two)

IF YOU GO

NEXT WEEK: Lava BedsNational Monument

• Gas (350 miles @ $3.20/gallon) $44.80

• Lodging, 2 nights, Steamboat Inn $400

• Dinner, Steamboat Inn $100

• 2 breakfasts, Steamboat Inn $40

• Lunch, Diamond Lake Resort $22.50

• Tasting dinner, Steamboat Inn $170

TOTAL $777.30

INFORMATION

• Umpqua National Forest: 2900 N.W. Stewart Parkway, Roseburg; 541-496-3532; www.fs.fed.us/r6/umpqua

LODGING AND RESTAURANTS

• Diamond Lake Resort: 350 Resort Drive, Diamond Lake; 541-793-3333, 800-733-7593, www .diamondlake.net. Rates from $79.

• Lemolo Lake Resort: 2610 Birds Point Road, Idleyld Park; 541-643-0750, www.lemolo lakeresort.com. Rates from $125.

• The Steamboat Inn: 42705 North Umpqua Hwy., Steamboat; 541-498-2230, 800-840-8825, www.thesteamboatinn .com. Rates from $160.