[4] The stream rises from springs near the Reed College campus in the southeastern part of the city and runs generally southwest to meet Johnson Creek in the Portland neighborhood of Sellwood.

[4] The creek's even flow and cool year-round temperature make it a good place for fish, including coho and chinook salmon and steelhead.

[4] From Reed Lake and Blue Bridge on the Reed College campus, the stream flows west under Southeast 28th Avenue, then south around Crystal Springs Lake and the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, which are on the left bank.

Flowing south through the Eastmoreland Golf Course, the creek receives the overflow from Crystal Springs Lake.

Further downstream, Crystal Springs Creek flows southwest under the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad and Oregon Route 99E (Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard).