TrailsNW
Oregon Cascades

Silver Falls

Length: 7 *mileage is round trip miles
Low Point: 1000'
High Point: 1600'
Season: All Year
Scenery: 5/5

Difficulty: 1.5/5

Submitted by: Forrest

Directions

From Salem, drive east on Highway 22 for five miles and turn east onto Highway 214. From there, follow the signs to the State Park.

Trail Description

The trails around Silver Falls State Park offer a wide variety of hiking options. The park is quite spectacular, and any trip is well worth it. I donsinglequotet know of many areas in the US, or possibly the world that has the quantity of waterfalls contained in such a small area, and four of the large waterfalls you can actually walk behind. The trails are easy, except for the little work required to get in and out of the two hundred foot deep canyon. The longest trip possible, the loop which travels by 10 different waterfalls is around 7 miles in length, but shorter trips are possible as well. I enjoy hiking it by parking at South Falls, hiking along the highway to North Falls, and then hiking through the canyon back to the parking lot. This gets the not as scenic highway-side trail over with, and allows you to finish your hike at South Falls, one of the most impressive waterfalls I have ever seen. Also donsinglequotet forget to visit Upper North Falls. A short, 0.2 mile trail from the parking lot at north falls leads to this extra waterfall which isnsinglequotet on the loop hike, but well worth it.

Comments

I did this hike in February and even then it seemed crowded. The scenery is terrific.
2009-04-27 15:26:06
Just did this hike in the middle of January after some huge rains and flooding in the valley. You can really see the difference in water flow if you look at one of my pictures form this trail in fall 2002 compared to winter 2006! There is at least twice as much water running. It is a great trail regardless of what time of year you go, and the thunderous waterfalls in the winter make up for the inevitable rains.
2006-01-14 17:32:20
Great trail...spring is definitely the best time to visit. Less people and the waterfalls are running harder.
2004-03-06 00:32:20
1/1/04
We did this hike during the last part of December, and if you can put up with rain and cold weather, it is well worth it. The waterfalls were thundering, especially Middle-North Falls, which is particularly spectacular. You can walk behind this waterfall, and during this time of year, it is a curtain of water probably 75-100 feet wide...very,very impressive. During this time of year you can also avoid the crowds, which plague this spectacular park during most of the year.
-Forrest
2004-03-06 00:32:20

Images