| Hills Creek | |
| Name Etymology: | John J. Hill, early settler |
| Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Oregon |
| Pushpin Map Size: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of Hills Creek in Oregon |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Oregon |
| Subdivision Type4: | County |
| Subdivision Name4: | Lane |
| Length: | 16miles[1] |
| Source1: | Juniper Ridge |
| Source1 Location: | Willamette National Forest |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 43.57°N -122.2639°W[2] |
| Source1 Elevation: | 5043feet[3] |
| Mouth: | Middle Fork Willamette River |
| Mouth Location: | Hills Creek Dam |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 43.7075°N -122.4233°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 1545feet |
Hills Creek is a tributary, about 16miles long, of the Middle Fork Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. From its headwaters on Juniper Ridge in the Cascade Range, the creek flows northwest through Lane County and the Willamette National Forest for its entire course.[1]
Hills Creek enters the Hills Creek Reservoir at Hills Creek Dam on the Middle Fork about 3miles upstream from Oakridge.[1] Forest Road 23 (Hills Creek Road) runs roughly parallel to the creek for most of its length.[1]
Hills Creek was named for John J. Hill, who settled near the mouth of the creek in 1870. The dam and lake take their names from the creek.[4]
The lower 3to of the creek are stocked with rainbow trout that reach 10inchesto12inchesin (toin) in length. The stream also supports wild coastal cutthroat trout.[5]
Whitewater enthusiasts sometimes run a 40NaN0 stretch of the creek that has been called "one of the more demanding creeks in the Eugene area". (Eugene is about 40miles northwest of the mouth of the creek.)[6] Rapids vary from class 4 to 5 on the International Scale of River Difficulty. Debris from logging adds to the many dangers on this run.[7]