| Crabtree Creek | |
| Name Etymology: | John J. Crabtree, who settled near the mouth of the creek in 1846[1] |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Oregon |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of Crabtree Creek in Oregon |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Oregon |
| Subdivision Type4: | County |
| Subdivision Name4: | Linn |
| Source1: | Cascade Range foothills |
| Source1 Location: | Crabtree Mountain and Lake |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 44.6003°N -122.4517°W[2] |
| Source1 Elevation: | 4113feet[3] |
| Mouth: | South Santiam River |
| Mouth Location: | upstream of Jefferson |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 44.6753°N -122.9589°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 236feet |
| Basin Size: | 156sqmi[4] |
Crabtree Creek is a tributary of the South Santiam River in Linn County in the U.S. state of Oregon. It begins in the western foothills of the Cascade Range at Crabtree Mountain near Crabtree Lake. From there it flows generally west to meet the larger stream about 3miles upstream of where the South Santiam merges with the North Santiam River to form the Santiam River.[5]
Oregon Route 226 crosses the creek between Crabtree on the south and Scio on the north about 8miles from the mouth.[5] The unincorporated community of Lacomb lies south of the creek, along one of its tributaries slightly west of the Cascade foothills.[5]
In addition to the Route 226 bridge, the creek flows under two covered bridges. Larwood Bridge carries Fish Hatchery Road over the creek at Larwood Wayside Park, about 3miles north of Lacomb and 16miles by water from the creek mouth.[5] [6] Further downstream, Hoffman Bridge carries Hungry Hill Drive over the creek about a mile north of Crabtree and 5miles from the mouth.[5] [7]
Larwood Park lies at the confluence of Roaring River with Crabtree Creek about 16miles by water from the creek mouth.[5] Covering 6acres, it has picnic tables, river views, a footbridge, a waterwheel that formerly powered a mill at the site, as well as places to fish and swim. Ripley's Believe It or Not! once listed the confluence as the only one in the world where a stream named "river" emptied into a stream named "creek".[8] This was, however, incorrect. Fall River is a tributary of Clear Creek in Colorado.[9]
Fishing for wild cutthroat trout in the creek is permitted on a catch-and-release basis; fishing for steelhead is not allowed. The creek is not stocked with hatchery fish.[10]
Whitewater enthusiasts sometimes run parts of Crabtree Creek in kayaks or other craft. A 10miles run from the North Fork Bridge to Larwood Park, is rated class 3T or 4 (intermediate or advanced) on the International Scale of River Difficulty. The 15.5miles run below that is less difficult. Hazards include rocks, logs, overhanging limbs, and a dangerous barbed-wire fence across most of the river a few miles downstream of the Route 226 bridge.[11]
Named tributaries from source to mouth are Bonnie, White Rock, Dorgan, South Fork Crabtree, and Bald Peter creeks, all from the left; Rock Creek from the right; Green Mountain Creek from the left; Hunter and Church creeks, Roaring River, all from the right, and Beaver Creek, from the left.[5]