There’s a trio of waterfalls just outside Cottage Grove that are the definition of short and sweet.

Tucked away beyond Dorena Lake — and just over an hour’s drive from Eugene — the three cascades roar in mossy forest and make a great adventure with younger children.

Spirit, Moon and Pinard falls are all stunners and unique in their own way, ranging from a powerful 40-feet blast-hose to a majestic 100-footer that fans out down a cliff face.

While the waterfalls are different, the hikes are almost all the same. They begin a handful of miles apart off rough Forest Service roads, drop through young and old-growth forest, and return in about 1 mile round-trip.

The experience of visiting them feels a little bit like a mini-road trip. You drive to one trailhead, hike to the waterfall, hop back in the car, and continue to the next one, and the next one. Before you know it, the day disappears in the mist, mud and moss.

I’m not kidding about the mud. These are some of the muddiest trails I’ve ever hiked, which is saying something, and both a good and bad thing if you’re hiking with kiddos. Luckily, you can wash them off with a swim at Dorena Lake on the way home.

Here’s a breakdown of each hike and cascade. For exact directions, see the bottom of the story.

Waterfall #1: Spirit Falls

Due to one of the roads being closed, the drive between the waterfall hikes is a bit longer than it would be otherwise, but the detour route is well-marked and it makes for a small-scale adventure worth doing if you’re an Oregon waterfall lover.

The shortest and most powerful of the group, Spirit Falls, is the first trailhead you reach from Cottage Grove and the obvious place to begin the adventure.

From the end of paved Laying Creek Road 17, you reach a sign pointing right onto a gravel pullout for the trailhead.

This trail was built by a Boy Scout troop in the 1980s. The troop actually named the falls “to honor the spirit of scouting,” according to Oregon Geographic Names.

The pathway is straightforward, dropping slightly downhill through the mud to a nice little picnic table with a view of the 40-foot falls that blasts into an amphitheater of stone. There’s room to play around at the base if the water isn’t too high (on our visit the water was roaring).

Head back up and you’re done with waterfall No. 1.

Waterfall #2: Moon Falls

Normally, you’d have a choice to make next. When all the roads are open, both Moon and Pinard falls are about a 3-mile drive from Spirit Falls Trailhead down different roads.

But currently, a stretch of Forest Road 1790 is closed (it's expected to reopen in a month or two). That means taking a detour that brings you to Moon Falls next.

Curiously, the Forest Service can’t seem to decide if the falls is officially called “Moonfalls” or “Moon Falls.” Two signs, including one at the trailhead, label it as the former. A directional one and its website references it as the latter.

I kind of like the uniqueness of “Moonfalls,” despite its grammatical nonsensicality.

The pathway is the only one that’s mostly level and in fact gains a few feet en route to the falls. A highlight is a giant downed tree that makes for a killer balance beam my kids spent about an hour exploring.

The waterfall is a sight. Seemingly out of nowhere, in the middle of the forest, it fans out 80 feet down a black cliff face. I suspect it’s less impressive later in the summer, as the flow gets low, but then it might make a nice spot for a natural shower, as it’s pretty easy to walk up to its base.

Two down, one to go.

Waterfall #3: Pinard Falls

With the current road closure, the drive to Pinard Falls takes a little extra time as you follow orange signs pointing the detour to the trailhead. It’s still worth it.

The trail follows an abandoned road bed for the first 0.3 miles, before dropping at the steepest pace of any of the hikes down a series of switchbacks to a view of what the Forest Service says is a 105-foot powerful string of a waterfall cutting down through a narrow canyon.

My girls felt that Pinard was the most scenic of the three, but it’s hard to pick. I’d probably pick Moonfalls as my favorite, if only because of the wonderful spelling.

Return to your car and head back the way you came, keeping a close eye not to take a wrong turn and get lost down the gravel roads back to Dorena Lake for a possible swim and back into the civilization of Interstate 5.

Spirit, Moon and Pinard Falls

In a nutshell: Three easy waterfall hikes near Cottage Grove in Umpqua National Forest, southeast of Eugene and just past Dorena Lake.

Difficulty: Mostly easy, but often muddy and sometimes steep

Length: Each hike is about 1 mile round-trip

Directions

Spirit Falls: From Interstate 5, take exit 174 for Cottage Grove. Follow signs for Dorena Lake, going east on Row River Road 2400 for a total of 19 miles. Past the lake and small towns of Dorena and Culp Creek, the road forks. Veer left onto Layng Creek Road 17 and continue for 8.8 miles to Forest Road 1790. Turn right on Forest Road 1790 and travel for 0.1-mile to the trailhead, a small turnout is located on the right side of the road and sign for Spirit Falls.

Moon Falls: Drive past Spirit Falls on 1790, to a sign pointing to Moon Falls by turning left onto USFS Road 1702. Follow this potholed road 2.7 miles before forking right on Road 728 at a little hiker sign. The trail is 0.3 miles down the road at its end.

Pinard Falls: Normally, you’d double back toward Spirit Falls and follow Road 1790 to Pinard Falls. However, that road is currently closed, so simply follow the large bright orange signs a total of 9 miles from Spirit Falls to Pinard Falls Trailhead.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Spirit, Moon and Pinard falls in Oregon has stunning hikes