Cascadia Day-Use Area – South Santiam River

Cascadia Day-Use Area is a beautiful destination along the South Santiam River just off Highway 20, near the Short Bridge, one of Oregon’s historic covered bridges. In the 1930s, the Cascadia Ranger Station was built here and this site was a part of the Santiam National Forest and later became the Willamette National Forest. In 1963, a new ranger station was completed in Sweet Home.

This is a beautiful small park with picnic tables, an information kiosk explaining the history of the area, and the only remaining historic covered bridge over the South Fork of the Santiam River.

If you are ready for swimming, wading, and diving, the stretch of the South Santiam River below the covered bridge is an amazing spot. The water is warm and calm in the summer months.

The river, flowing between rocky slopes, is deep under and downstream of the bridge.

There are shallows and gravel bars upstream of the bridge. This is a place for sunbathing, wading, and rockhounding. Trout fishing is allowed from May 22nd to October 31st, catch and release only.

The historic Cascadia State Park, managed by Linn County, is located 2 miles east.

From I-5,

• Take exit 228 for OR-34 toward Corvallis
• Head 5.4 miles east on OR-34 to Denny School Road
• Turn right onto Denny School Road and drive for 1.2 miles
• Continue 2.2 miles onto Airport Drive to US-20 (Main Street)
• Turn right onto US-20 and follow 25.5 miles to the destination on the left.

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