One of the best parts of our trip to Oregon last September was seeing so much nature. Living in Florida, I think we forget what it’s like to see waterfalls, lush green forests, and moody beaches made for jackets instead of bathing suits.
Silver Falls State Park is home to the Trail of Ten Falls, in Silverton, OR. The eight-mile circuitous hike takes you to ten different waterfalls, many of which you can walk behind. After reading some reviews, we decided to start at the south entrance and work our way clockwise along the trail. We got lucky and found a parking spot near the entrance (parking was $10). I imagine parking can be difficult during peak summer months.
We had seen pictures of the falls on social media, so we had an idea of what to expect. What we didn’t expect was how breathtakingly gorgeous the rest of the scenery would be. It was the greenest, fullest, most intricate plant life any of us had seen. We already loved Portland, but this made us fall in love with Oregon.
None of us wanted to commit to the full eight-mile hike, so we planned to start together and see the first South Falls. Then our friends would do the one-mile South Falls and Back trail, and My Husband and I would do the five-mile loop and skip waterfalls seven through nine.
The South Falls is the first waterfall, and one you can walk behind. It was an easy descent down some stairs (we quickly learned it was the last easy part of the hike).
Photos don’t do it justice. The smell of the loamy vegetation and the sound of the roaring water transport you to a whole different world. It truly felt like we were part of nature.
After some time behind the waterfall, we headed our separate ways. It turned out that the rest of the one-mile loop was almost completely vertical. It was such a steep incline that it took them almost as long as the remaining four miles took us. If you want to see the South Falls but not hike, I would go right back up the stairs you came down.
Blissfully unaware of our friends’ struggle, The Husband and I continued along. The scenery remained just as beautiful as at the beginning, but it was a while from the South Falls to the next one, Lower South Falls. After that, it was a little far to the third waterfall, Lower North Falls. After that, Double Falls, Drake Falls, Middle North Falls, and Winter Falls were all pretty close to each other.
We are in pretty decent shape (we walk four miles most mornings) but this hike was hard. With an elevation change of over a thousand feet, the inclines and declines were rough for us Floridians. It ended up taking us a little over three hours, and we were beat by the end.
Thankfully, a store with drinks and nice bathrooms is at the South Falls entrance. We grabbed water and snacked on the Tillamook pizza we had in the car.
Despite the long, relatively hard hike, I would absolutely do it again!