Silver Falls State Park is another attraction near to Portland that is always worth a visit in any season. Silver Falls State Park is located near Silverton, about 20 miles east-southeast of Salem the capital of Oregon.
Old growth forests and misty canyons frame the cascading falls.
Silver Falls State Park and its spectacular Trail of Ten Falls has one of the greatest concentrations of waterfalls in the Western United States.
Mr. Dietz hunting images on our photo safari.
Along with Mr. Dietz, my fellow photography enthusiast (my wife calls us photo dorks), we headed out from Portland in the early AM to catch the sunrise and the autumn leaves at Silver Falls State Park.
Lower North Falls – 30 feet.
We avoided Interstate 5 in favor of the rural byways and passed through barely visible rolling hills and still sleeping little towns in the crisp pre-dawn hours of late October.
The base of Double Falls – 178 feet.
Within a relatively compact area, 14 falls cascade over the narrow, rocky streams of the North and South Forks of Silver Creek. Five of the falls drop over 100 feet amid groves of old growth timber and through mist-filled canyons.
Middle North Falls – 106 feet.
The Trail of Ten Falls – sometimes referred to as the Canyon Trail on the signs – is a well-maintained 8.7-mile trail running along the banks of Silver Creek.
South Falls, 177 feet, South Fork of Silver Creek.
The Silver Falls area was once looked at as a possible 2nd National Park for the State of Oregon but was passed over and instead it became the largest state park in Oregon at over 9,000 acres.
The area has more than 24 miles of walking trails along with horse trails, a 4 mile bike path and a campground with around 100 sites.
FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps put hundreds of young unemployed men to work constructing the buildings, trails, bridges, and retaining walls that make up the park’s infrastructure. Many of these CCC built structures are on the National Register of Historic Places.
North Falls – 136 feet.
The Trail of Ten Falls allows hikers a unique perspective as it passes behind the falls of South Falls, Lower South Falls, Middle North Falls, and North Falls. The park receives nearly a million visitors per year.
One visit to Silver State Falls State Park and you will see why people call it the crown jewel of the Oregon State Parks system.
For a beautiful hike any time of the year and at just over an hour outside of Portland you can’t beat Silver Falls State Park. You won’t be disappointed.
Beautiful photos, such lovely colours.