Winter Trail at Silver Falls State Park

If you've never been to Silver Falls State Park, you are really missing out. It's an easily accessible, local paradise. It's in the mountains, secluded, and boasts over 25 miles of hiking trails extending over 9,000 acres of wilderness. Not only is it the perfect place for a day hike, they also offer an expanse of camping facilities, whether you prefer trailers, tents, yurts, cabins, tepees or lodges. You can also photograph, bird watch, mountain bike, explore, walk your dog, and horseback ride on certain areas of the park. Please check out the park website to find information on all they have to offer.

All my life, I've always lived within a half hour of this park, and therefore have been to it countless times, but it never gets old. There are too many trails and wilderness to explore, too many sites to see, and too many things to do to ever tire of it. Despite the rain and cold weather, today was one of those days I looked around and marveled at how lucky we are to live so close to such a beautiful place. The only downside to this park {which I've mentioned previously, so sorry for the repetition}, is that because it is so perfect, it can also get very busy. I've enjoyed being here in the winter, which has allowed us to miss most of the park traffic. Even with it being winter and raining most of the day though, we still encountered 4 or 5 other hiking groups along our way.

The popular 8.7 mile "Trail of Ten Falls" {which is described more thoroughly in the FAQ section of the park's website here} takes you around the whole park to viewpoints of {obviously} all 10 waterfalls the park features. Today, we hiked only 2.5 miles, and where able to see 5 of the 10. Pretty good bang for your buck, eh? For this hike, you'll start at the Winter Falls parking lot, which is about 2 miles north of the South Falls day use area {be aware that there are no bathrooms here, so you'll want to stop on your way at the South Falls for bathrooms, if needed}. There are hiking trails leading off both ends of the lot. Take the one to the right, where you'll find a map at the trailhead. From here, you'll hike down a switchback trail for only about 0.2 miles to the 134 ft Winter Falls. Just as you take the switch back past the viewpoint, there is a small trail off to your left. Our kids immediately jumped at the opportunity to scale down the trail to the water's edge {it's very shallow here}, and work their way a little closer to the base of the falls.

You'll then continue another 0.3 miles before reaching a bridge crossing over the creek. After crossing, turn left {there will be a sign indicating that you are heading along the Canyon Trail toward South Falls}. Another 0.2 miles will bring you to the magnificent 106 ft Middle North Falls. I am partial to this one. As I've indicated before, my favorite waterfalls are not the highest, but the widest ones. This one fits the bill for me, and ranks as one of my favorites at the park. To get to this viewpoint, you'll branch off the trail to the left. You can continue all of the way back behind the waterfall, and just a little farther past before it dead ends. I recommend this detour, since it's always fun for everyone {especially the kids} to walk BEHIND a waterfall, plus the outcroppings in the rock are interesting to look at too. We even noticed a large nest perched on a stone ledge near the dead end.

After making your way back to the main trail, follow it another 0.2 miles to Drake Falls. This one is the park's smallest at only 27 ft, and is named after a photographer that brought the park some fame with his impressive photographs of the falls. 0.2 miles farther brings you over another small bridge and to a split in the trail. Going straight continues you on the Canyon Trail, which we followed for only about 50 meters more to a viewpoint for 30 ft Lower North Falls. Back track to the split, and head the other direction for 0.1 miles to where it dead ends at the highest falls in the park, Double Falls. It is so named, because it drops several feet, then continues along a straight path for a little ways, before dropping the remainder of its 178 total ft. The thing I enjoyed the most about this falls, is the diversion from the main trail. The falls drops into a smaller stream/creek that then connects back to the main Silver Creek, which makes this area feel especially secluded and majestic.

After your view of the Double Falls, you just turn around and make the 1.25 mile trek back to the car. While the trail makes occasional small rises and falls, it really is quite easy, and the hardest part of the trail is the 0.2 mile switchback section from the Winter Falls back up to the parking lot. It isn't too bad, but I know that back in our beginner days with much smaller children, we would have been carrying one or two up this section of the trail.

We all really enjoyed this hike, and my oldest {who is our least enthusiastic hiker} commented on how fast the distance seemed to fly by, since they were having so much fun. Always a good indication of a successful trail!

Park Fee: $5/day, $30/yr Oregon State Park Pass

Total Distance: 2.5 miles
Trail Type: Out & back
Trail Appearance: Well maintained, packed & nature covered gravel
Trail Elevation: Several rises & falls, 0.2 mile moderate incline
Atmosphere: Birds chirping, water roaring
View: Trees, creek, waterfalls
Extras: Walk behind a waterfall

Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
My Rating: ****
Kid Ratings: ****; ****; ****