Silver Falls State Park was a destination in the Fall Journeys 2013 travelogue.
Silver Falls State Park was one of my favorite Oregon destination in terms of scenery, access, hiking and facilities. At least ten sizable falls can be seen by following the Trail Of Ten Falls. There are enough variations of heights, flow patterns, etc. to keep one busy with different ways to compose photos. I was here near the peak of fall colors in an overcast day, making it conducive to photography. Oregon had just gone through record rain the previous week, thus the water volume over the falls was quite high, in some way making it difficult to make photos with slow exposures.
It's not often that I'd say I had enough pictures of waterfalls for a day and decided to cut the hike at half way, saving the rest for another trip. It's also wonderful to have the chance to walk behind several waterfalls in the park. After the trip, it was sort of a surprise to learn two things - the Trail of Ten Falls is designated a National Recreation Trail, and there is such a designation :)
Journal
Getting to the park is fairly easy on well maintained highways. The only thing that surprised me was how much the vicinity was in agriculture with beautiful rolling hills and farms of Christmas trees, and how so close to such tame terrain that there could be waterfalls. A short section of hilly roads as I approached the park seems to make all the difference.
Self paying for Day Use was necessary since the entrance station was closed in October when I was there. It pays to grab a trail map at the entrance to help navigation once on the trail, not so much to find ways since there was only one main trail, but to help deciding how far one wants to hike before looping back. It's probably a good time investment to study the trail map to see how far one wants to hike. Folks can choose different loops with different lengths - after the South Falls trail, after Lower South Falls, after Middle North Falls or go all the way to North Falls. There are other parking areas for folks who want to see further falls such as North Falls but don't want to hike long distance. Finding the trailhead was a small challenge since there are more than one way to get to it, and there are several parking areas. I found parking near the lodge and restroom facilities the easiest to reach the South Falls trail.
South Falls is the easiest to access, where one can take pictures from an overlook that is a short walk from the parking area. Following a short trail provides opportunities to photograph South Falls at the middle elevation or from behind the falls. One can choose to cut the hike short by crossing a bridge at the base of the falls to go back to the lodge or the parking lot.
It was rather wet when I was there, so it'd be prudent to protect cameras and moisture sensitive gears. During weekdays, expect to see lots of children taking field trips in this area. They seem to take the short hikes most often and if one continues to Lower South Falls and beyond, it's much less congested.
By following the trail and climbing down a steep set of steps, one reaches Lower South Falls which has a similar pattern with South Falls, except there are higher vantage points. The trail continues that also takes hikers behind the waterfall. Again, one can elect to end the hike and take a loop back to the parking area. Many people would end the hike at Lower South Falls since continuing on would require significantly more time commitment.
By following the Trail of Ten Falls, several other waterfalls can be seen - a low 30ft-drop Lower North Falls, Double Falls which is the tallest falls in the park at 178 ft, Drake Falls, Middle North Falls and Winter Falls. This was where I chose to take the loop back to the parking long.
Silver Falls State Park is convenient located near Eugene, thus making access much easier than many other parks...
Lower South Falls
Winter Falls
Other considerations
Keep in mind there is no restroom facilities between South Falls and North Falls at a distance of some 3.9 miles. So take care of business before embarking on the long hike.
Camping is available year round. There is a long dedicated bike path.
Getting to the park is fairly easy on well maintained highways. The only thing that surprised me was how much the vicinity was in agriculture with beautiful rolling hills and farms of Christmas trees, and how so close to such tame terrain that there could be waterfalls. A short section of hilly roads as I approached the park seems to make all the difference.
South Falls is the easiest to access, where one can take pictures from an overlook that is a short walk from the parking area. Following a short trail provides opportunities to photograph South Falls at the middle elevation or from behind the falls. One can choose to cut the hike short by crossing a bridge at the base of the falls to go back to the lodge or the parking lot.