Detour Ahead!

The Detour to the Waterfall: A Tale of Dirt Roads, and Double Backs

A kind woman at the welcome center told us about a waterfall where you could actually walk behind the falls. Janet thought that sounded absolutely magical.

We hit the road, GPS glowing with hope… until we saw the dreaded sign:

“Road Closed Ahead. No Detour Given?

Well, detours are just suggestions, right? We figured we could outsmart the orange signs and find our own way there.

And so began the longest back-road adventure of our lives. Dirt roads. Gravel. Bumps. Washboards. More bumps. We drove through what felt like the wild heart of nowhere for over an hour and a half.

But finally—we made it.

And oh, was it worth it. The waterfall was long, full, flowing, and absolutely breathtaking. We took our pictures, admired the view, and basked in the glory of nature (and questionable navigation). As beautiful as they were, sadly you could not walk behind the falls.

Feeling victorious, we pressed onward… until we hit another roadblock. Turns out, we hadn’t gotten around the closure. We’d simply gone under it. And that meant we had to do the whole, dusty, bumpy, backroad journey in reverse—another hour and a half back the way we came.

So yes, we saw a stunning waterfall. And yes, we took the world’s longest scenic loop that nobody asked for.

But in the end? Totally worth it.