Benham Falls

Lava Butte erupted roughly 6,000 years ago and rerouted the Deschutes River into what is now Benham Falls — a Class 5 rapid, the largest on the upper Deschutes, set inside Newberry National Volcanic Monument. The falls pitch at 22.5°, churning through a forested gorge between Sunriver and Bend. A footbridge connects the trail to viewpoints above and below the cascade. Between March and May, fed by snowmelt, the falls run at their most powerful.