Youngs River Falls is a 54-foot waterfall on the Youngs River in Clatsop County, roughly ten road miles south of downtown Astoria. The small day-use park around it is run by Astoria Parks and Recreation, and the National Park Service lists it as a stop on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Sergeant Patrick Gass of the Lewis and Clark Expedition wrote about the falls on March 1, 1806, after hunters working out of Fort Clatsop came across them. The river drops over a single rock wall into a gravel-banked pool that sits only about ten feet above sea level.

From Astoria, follow Business 101 south from the Youngs Bay Bridge roundabout, then turn onto Youngs River Road and stay on it for about 7.5 miles. Just before the road crosses the Youngs River on a bridge, a sign points right to the falls. You can also come in from Highway 202 by way of Olney. The parking lot has a view of the falls right away, and a 0.25-mile trail with steps drops down through Sitka spruce to the rocky beach at the base. Stay on the park side. The gravel and service roads past the lot are gated timber company roads, posted private or open by permit only.

Swimming happens in the plunge pool and in the slower water just downstream. The bottom is rock and gravel, and the National Park Service puts the deepest point of the pool at five to seven feet, which is shallow for anything dropping from above. By July and August the river runs low and the water warms enough for wading and a swim, while winter and spring flows turn the pool into a churning, log-choked basin. Floods have stacked logs 15 to 20 feet up against the cliff beside the falls, and new wood and rock can shift into the pool after any high-water event. No lifeguard service is listed for the site.

Entry is free. There is no day-use fee and no parking pass required. The park is open year-round for day use only, so plan to leave by dark. Dogs are allowed on a leash. Climbing the waterfall and jumping from the cliffs are not permitted, and that rule exists for a reason here.

The falls have a long record of serious injuries and deaths, nearly all tied to climbing or jumping. A Seaside teenager was critically hurt after a jump in 2007, a Colorado visitor died in 2014, and an Astoria man died in 2016 after falling about 45 feet onto rock. On July 28, 2025, a 41-year-old man went under while swimming and was recovered by the Clatsop County dive team about two hours later. The Clatsop County Sheriff's Office asks people not to jump or dive into waterfall pools because of hidden objects in the water and strong currents. Footing on the wet rock around the base is slick, and children need close supervision near the edge.

Even outside swim season the place is worth a stop for the view from the lot, which needs no walking at all. The falls appeared in Free Willy 2, Benji the Hunted and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III. Summer weekends get crowded with locals, so an early start helps with parking. There are no services at the site. Astoria has food, fuel and lodging, and the closest community on the drive is Olney on Highway 202.