| Drift Creek | |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Oregon |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of Drift Creek in Oregon |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Oregon |
| Subdivision Type4: | County |
| Subdivision Name4: | Lincoln |
| Length: | 18miles |
| Source1: | near Stott Mountain |
| Source1 Location: | Siuslaw National Forest, Central Oregon Coast Range |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 44.9481°N -123.7861°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 2767feet[1] |
| Mouth: | Siletz River |
| Mouth Location: | Siletz Bay |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 44.9111°N -124.0097°W[2] |
| Mouth Elevation: | 7feet |
Drift Creek is a tributary, about 18miles long, of Siletz Bay in the U.S. state of Oregon. The creek begins near Stott Mountain in the Central Oregon Coast Range in Lincoln County and follows a winding course generally west through the Siuslaw National Forest to enter the bay south of Lincoln City on the Pacific Ocean. It passes under U.S. Route 101 just before reaching the bay.[3]
Named tributaries of Drift Creek from source to mouth are Nelson, Fowler, Barn, Smith, Sampson, Wildcat, and North creeks. Then Quarry, Odell, Bluff, Gordey, and Anderson creeks.[3]
Until being dismantled and destroyed in 1997 and rebuilt over Bear Creek, a Salmon River tributary to the north and further inland, the Drift Creek Bridge was the state's closest covered bridge to the ocean.[4] Drift Creek Park, managed by Lincoln County, remains open at the former bridge site along South Drift Creek Road. It consists of posted information about the bridge and directions to its new location.[5]
Drift Creek Falls Trail leads 1.5miles from the Drift Creek Trailhead along Forest Road 17 to a 240feet suspension bridge overlooking Drift Creek Falls. The waterfall is 75feet high.[6]
Drift Creek supports populations of cutthroat trout, steelhead, and Chinook salmon. According to Fishing in Oregon, this creek and a Drift Creek in the Alsea River watershed are important in efforts to restore anadromous fish runs in Oregon. The stream has limited road access, and angling in the upper reaches requires hiking via Drift Creek Trail or logging roads. Much of the angling is catch-and-release.[7]