Silver Falls State Park
If it's waterfalls you're
after—especially the chance to get behind them—this is the hike
of your dreams. It's an easy loop that's known as Trail of Ten Falls.
There are also shorter loops available, all of which take in views of
one or more waterfalls.
This is the crown jewel of the Oregon
State Parks system; it's also one of the most visited parks in the
state and Oregon's largest state park. Unless it's a rainy weekday in
the winter, you probably won't be close to alone here, but it hardly
matters. It's one of the finest hikes around, especially if you're
into waterfalls. By the way, Silver Creek was named not for its color
but for a pioneer who settled here in the 1840s.
This gorgeous hike weaves through
Silver Creek Canyon past many spectacular waterfalls in the park. The
trail starts next to South Falls Lodge and descends steeply into the
canyon. It was a beautiful sunny day in the valley so Rod, Carley,
and I decided that we were going to make the 4.2 mile loop, saving
the North Falls for another day. After we found the trailhead, the
hike started out like any other normal hike. We did not get too far
when we encountered a family that inquired if we were headed down to
the falls and informed us that the trail was steep and slick so we
opted to go in the other direction as far as we could before we would
have to turn back as part of the trail was closed. The first part of
the trail was great, no issues, but as we hiked further in we again
encountered more hikers warning us of steep, slick spots throughout
the trail. Since we were already there, we decided to go further
into the park. After about 1 mile in, I took a little tumble down the
trail so we decided to turn around and head back. Unfortunately, our
hike was cut short, the only falls we saw where the South Falls at
the beginning of the hike, but we will definitely go back and try
this hike again. To be continued....
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