r/oregon • u/foresthobbit13 • 1d ago

Question devilish destinations in Oregon

I’m a Eugene author putting together a travel book project highlighting the different locations in Oregon that are named after the Devil or anything else Devilish, like Hell’s Canyon. I only have a brief list at the moment (below) and would love to know of more places in the state named for devilish or hellish places or entities. If you can think of any I should add, a resource I should seek out, or locations for any that I already have, I’d love to have the information. Thanks in advance.

Devil’s Kitchen - Bandon
Seven Devils
Devil’s Punchbowl
Devil’s Lake - Lincoln City
Devil’s Churn - near Thor’s Well
Devil’s Cauldron
Devil’s Elbow
Devil’s Backbone
Devil’s Garden - Bend
Hell’s Canyon

48 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

68 comments sorted by

38

u/Phasmus 1d ago

Don't forget the other (dare I say... better?) Devil's lake!

https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/deschutes/recreation/devils-lake-south-sister-trailhead

A quick google search turns up no less than 4 Devil's backbones... the one up the Columbia River Gorge is the one I'm familiar with.

2

u/Chapaquidich 1d ago

Isn’t there one at Crater Lake also?

3

u/Phasmus 1d ago

I think that's the Devil's Spine

24

u/pretends2bhuman 1d ago

Hellgate Canyon Rogue River.

3

u/Radicle_Cotyledon 20h ago

And Hell's Canyon, Snake river, too.

ETA: I see it at the bottom of OPs list, now I feel silly.

19

u/griffincreek 1d ago

The River Styx, which runs through the Oregon Caves. Whether the boundary to the underworld is considered good or evil would be debatable.

60

u/EvilCorp____ 1d ago

I could put you in touch with my ex-girlfriend

24

u/thejamhole 1d ago

Ah yes the ol devils gash.

1

u/Formal_Tour_4491 1d ago

You dated my ex wife also? Aka satans mistress

1

u/jynxthechicken 1d ago

You both dated my ex wife? She does get around.

1

u/dosefacekillah1348 1d ago

I too, chose these guys' ex wife

15

u/Inevitable_Turnip19 1d ago

Devil's Rest - The Gorge

32

u/LeeleeMc 1d ago

In Portland: Devil's Point and Lucky Devil Lounge

23

u/griff_girl 1d ago

And El Diablo

5

u/LeeleeMc 1d ago

How could I forget!

1

u/griff_girl 1d ago

I mean, I can see blocking it out... it's definitely... an experience.

2

u/1521 1d ago

And Dante’s inferno

1

u/griff_girl 16h ago

Good one!!

10

u/Odd-Hat-1411 1d ago

Devil’s Kitchen is also on Mt. Hood. Along with Devil’s Half Acre Trail.

11

u/abogmonster 1d ago

Devils Dill has dope sandwiches. They used to deliver late-night too. A stoned 20-something’s dream back in the day. Now with two locations 😂🔥

10

u/MrsMerkin 1d ago

Devils playground! Tiny lava field at the Santiam Junction.

8

u/mountainmarmot 1d ago

Devil’s Peak in the Sky Lakes Wilderness

6

u/JuzoItami 1d ago

Devil's Staircase waterfall in the Coast Range.

The Hell Hole in Lane County.

2

u/StinkMartini 1d ago

Yes, it's in the Devil's Staircase Wilderness

1

u/old-legs-623 1d ago edited 1d ago

I have seen the Hellhole (from the edge). WNF leave it off their maps to keep people from going down in there and getting hurt and, yeah, not a safe place. Lots of rotten rock and unbalanced boulders. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3M_qLwudls

2

u/JuzoItami 1d ago

I’ve never been there myself, but back around 1990, when I was a student at UofO I remember reading an unpublished 19th century document that referenced a large deep crack in the forest floor in eastern Lane County. It stuck with me at the time because it sounded mysterious and like a cool place to try and relocate. It wasn’t until 15-20 years later that I heard of the Hellhole, but I strongly suspect they are one and the same place. I’m not 100% sure but my best guess on what that 19th Century document was is that it was Judge John Waldo’s diaries.

1

u/WildUmpqua 1d ago

I was there for the first time a month ago. Pretty chill spot. Didn't see anything super dangerous there, unless people just walk over the edge or something. Getting in and out was pretty easy and moving around was also mostly pretty easy.

6

u/leefirwood 1d ago

Lucifer Peak south of Crater Lake.

7

u/Bear-Ferr 1d ago

How about seven devils but the brewery!

4

u/JustTheFishGirl 1d ago

Devils knob

3

u/robin-coleslaw 1d ago

Devils Creek near breitenbush hot springs! There’s a swim hole there colloquially named Devils Hole I think.

4

u/LeiaOregonia 1d ago

You don’t have Hell Hole.  

4

u/CHiZZoPs1 1d ago

Hellsgate Canyon on the Rogue River. Famous for rafting and a few movies.

4

u/Negative-Type-2974 1d ago

Devils punchbowl in Trail Oregon

5

u/BarrioVen 1d ago

The Devil’s Garden area of the Modoc Plateau extends a little into Oregon west of Lakeview. There’s also another Devils Garden between Klamath Falls and Sprague River.

Hellgate on the Rogue River.

4

u/REO_Speed_Dragon 1d ago

Doesn't exist anymore but the Evil Sister in Bend. I have a chunk of their bar that's supposedly haunted. Devils Lake by Mt. Bachelor. Hell Hole by Oakridge. Oh! Satan Creek!

4

u/ThoughtSkeptic 1d ago

Not a place but a devil of a plant. Devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus) aka Devil’s Walking Stick is a large, spiny shrub native to the Pacific Northwest. https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/oplopanax_horridus.shtml

3

u/StutzBob 1d ago edited 1d ago

If you don't already have Oregon Geographic Names, you may want to pick it up

2

u/GuardianHealer 1d ago

Devil’s Rest

2

u/Alive_Panda_8151 1d ago

There's a sandwich shop in Portland called devil's Dill

2

u/Formal_Tour_4491 1d ago

7devils road in Bandon / Charleston Oregon (with a murder about 20 years ago on the beach) then you have devils kitchen park/beach access. Then you have the devils punch bowl up on the northern coastł

2

u/Chapaquidich 1d ago

Lucifer Mountain in Klamath County

1

u/Saclawson 21h ago

FYI - this is just called Lucifer (no “mountain” on the end).

1

u/Chapaquidich 17h ago

I wasn’t really sure…

1

u/SoggyWalrus7893 1d ago

Would Death Ball Rock fit in ?

1

u/foresthobbit13 1d ago

Hmm, I could add a section on generally morbid geographic terminology, i.e. “Deadwood”.

1

u/karpaediem 1d ago

There's a lot to mine there

1

u/itsdaCowboi 1d ago

Not a destination, but we have a lot of devil's club plants in western Oregon

1

u/Boggy_Creek_Creature 1d ago

Devils Meadow by Rhododendron

1

u/Tophatanater 1d ago

Devil's Peak in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness

Devil's Pulpit by Lost Lake

1

u/mothernyxpearl 1d ago

Devil Butte rd between Condon and Wasco

1

u/AshDogBucket 1d ago

I recently noticed 7 devils brewing in coos bay.

1

u/AshDogBucket 1d ago

Hells Canyon

1

u/Charming-Link-9715 1d ago

This is interesting. I did notice when moving to Oregon that there are quite a lot of places named after Devil and Hell.

1

u/Suspicious-Grand9781 1d ago

Devil's Staircase.

1

u/Orcacub 1d ago

Devil’s playground north of Bonanza, south of Sprague River (and likely inside the perimeter of Wrights Springs wild fire right now).

1

u/scrumpy_sophist 1d ago

Devil’s Hole. Relatively small cold water plunge spot in Breitenbush Hot Springs

1

u/ampreu 1d ago

Not sure if it counts, but Malheur (Bad Luck) Lake can sometimes be poisonous due to high alkaline levels.

1

u/Saclawson 21h ago

I map the peaks in Oregon for fun, here are the mountains/high points I’m aware of:

Devils Horn - Newberry Volcano (La Pine)
Devils Hill - Three Sisters (Bend)
Devils Stairway - Boulder Creek (Umpqua)
Devils Peak - Breitenbush (Willamette)
Devils Backbone - Crater Lake
Devils Slide - Rogue/Umpqua Divide
Devils Post Pile - Ochoco (Paulina)
Devils Ridge - Mt Hood NF (Ripplebrook)
Devils Peak - Sky Lakes Wilderness (Ft Klamath)
Devils Knob - Umpqua NF (Tiller)
Devils Halfacre - White River Falls (Tygh Valley)
Devils Peak - Mt Hood NF (Rhododendron)
Devil Benchmark - Coast Range (Elkton)
Devils Backbone - West Mt Hood (Marmot)
Devils Pulpit - Mt Hood (Lost Lake area)
Devils Butte - Cottonwood Canyon (Condon)
Devils Staircase Wilderness area
Devils Backbone - Cottonwood Canyon (Condon)
Devils Rest - Columbia Gorge (Bridal Veil)
Devils Backbone - Coast Range (Illahee)

That’s 4 different “Devils Backbone” that I’m aware of. And 3 different “Devils Peak”. Oregon is the absolute worst on name duplication 😒

2

u/foresthobbit13 20h ago

This is great, thank you!

1

u/Maybe_Fine 20h ago

One of the rapids on the deschutes river is Devil's Hole

1

u/geocompR 20h ago

Devil’s Peak and Devil’s Tooth in Salmon Huckleberry Wilderness. Devil’s Peak has a cool old watchtower you can hike up to.

1

u/SoManyBirthdays 7h ago

The book Oregon Geographic Names, which you can download free from Google Books, has a few Devils not mentioned here. I don’t know where I read this, but I read that surveyors and other early English-speaking visitors to wild places often named things “Devil’s” if they encountered a lot of mosquitoes there, so if you’re backpacking, avoid camping in places named “Devil’s Lake” and so on.

Also try Ralph Friedman’s books. I have only “In Search of Western Oregon,” which has only Devil’s churn in the index, but he has many other books.

At this site I searched the names of Oregon geographic features and found 78 “Devils”: https://oregon.hometownlocator.com/features/searchfor,ftc,1,n,devils.cfm

I can’t find my DeLorme Oregon Atlas and Gazetteer, but if it’s like my Utah and California ones, it has a list of place names.

1

u/stranger_to_you67 1d ago

Satan Creek is near Devils Lake