SILVER FALLS STATE PARK EXPEDITION!

Silver Falls State Park is located near Silverton, Oregon, which is about twenty miles southeast of Oregon's capitol city of Salem.  It is the largest state park in Oregon, with an area of about 9,000 acres.

About six months before my visit, I had gone to their lodging reservation site (www.reserveamerica.com) to rent a cabin, in hopes that family members living near there, would be able to meet up with me at the park.  Sadly, those family members developed COVID, and were still in their quarantine period on the night the cabin was reserved.  So I was on my own for exploring this new-to-me destination!

As soon as I scoped out the cabin location, I headed to the main parking lot, for the hiking I wanted to do, on the Trail of Ten Falls.   The photo shows the kiosk where one needs to purchase their parking permit, and this can be done with a credit card. 

On the way to the trailhead, one will pass this historic structure, now known as the Silver Falls State Park Concession Building Area.  It was originally called simply, "Silver Falls Lodge".  It was started in 1934, and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.  In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that the Silver Falls area would be turned into a Recreational Demonstration Area..  This was a program during the 1930's run by the National Park Service that built 46 public parks, in twenty-four states, chiefly near urban areas.  The NPS used labor from a variety of Great Depression federal relief programs, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration, to build these recreational demonstration areas.  This building's architectural style is called "National Park Service Rustic", sometimes called "Parkitecture".

The goal of "Parkitecture" is to create buildings whose interiors and exteriors, harmonize with the natural environment.  By the end of World War II, the recreational demonstration areas had all either become National Park Service units, or been given to their states for use as state parks, which was the case for Silver Falls.

The South Falls theater shows how native stone and native wood can blend into the landscape, more than a starkly modern, neon-colored structure would. 

Inside the South Falls theater, there was a wonderful display of native wildflowers and plants, with the names and descriptions, accompanying each clear glass display vase.   As a certified Arkansas Master Naturalist (www.arkansasmasternaturalists.org), I have a great appreciation for the amount of work that must have gone into preparing this exhibit! 

I made a slight detour from my path to the trail head, to visit the Silver Falls Nature Store.  My goal was to purchase a souvenir metal hiking stick medallion, and I was delighted to find out they had them in stock!  Of course, there was also myriad of additonal souvenir items, snacks, and camping supplies. 

 

Next I started on the path that was the beginning of the Trail of Ten Waterfalls, and within just a few feet, I could see one of the viewing areas for the mighty and majestic South Falls. 

When I made it to the view point, where tourists were taking turns getting a photo in front of the falls, I was so happy to be at this long awaited location, I lifted my arms in gratitude!

I have visited waterfalls in other states where I was able to walk underneath the falls, but none of them had such well-designed pathways, complete with wood and/or stone railings.  The South Falls is a 177-foot cascade, has an average flow rate of 75 cu ft/s,  and is the park's most visited waterfall.  

I read stories that said before this was a state park, a local entrepreneur sold admission to the falls area, with attractions such as pushing cars over the falls, and even hosting a stunt, with a daredevil riding over in a canoe. 

Around 1900, a Silverton photographer, named June D. Drake, began to campaign for park status, using his photographs of the falls, to gain support.  However, in 1926, an inspector for the National Park Service rejected the area for national park status, because of the numerous unattractive stumps left, after years of logging.  Thankfully, a decade later, the area did finally come under government protection. 

The Trail of Ten Falls is not wheel-chair accessible, although I did see one couple with a stroller enjoying the scenery with their toddler, near the beginning of the trail.  No other strollers were seen the rest of my hike.  (It should be noted, that the mom and dad were carrying it over several spots along the trail, rather than bouncing their stoller-bound child on the very rocky surfaces.)

After the bridge that crossed South Fork Creek, the trail made its way beside the creek, and between massive evergreen trees.

If you have an area with ten waterfalls, then you can assume that means there are several areas of extreme elevation changes to navigate!  Fortunately, the CCC and WPA built stairs that made this possible, without the need for rockclimbing gear!

This was my first time to see a hiker with a hula hoop!  I asked her what it was for, and she replied, "FUN!"

There is another set of stairs that leads to the Lower South Falls, which has a height of 93 feet..

Lower South Falls is one of four waterfalls in the park, that has an "amphitheater-like" formation underneath it, which allows visitors to walk behind the falls.   Can you see the people underneath Lower South Falls?

Several creeks gush their way through the narrow canyon, often causing the hiking trail to be muddy in some low-lying locations.

There are no "Golden Arches" along the trail, but this arching evergreen tree provided a nice archway that I could easily pass under.  Taller folks would probably need to bend over a bit.

This photo shows another one of the ten falls, that is formed from the run-off of a small tributary creek into the canyon. 

Notice a bridge has been built across the top of the waterfall in photo below.  It is called Drake Falls.

Since Drake Falls was named after a photographer who promoted the park, I wanted to have my picture made with it!  (See below) Drake Falls is called a "Plunge Type" waterfall, and has a height of 27 feet.  Its average flow rate is 100 cu ft/s , and is the smallest of the ten waterfalls along the Trail of Ten Falls.  If you reach Drake Falls, you know you have hiked a bit over  two miles,  past Lower South Falls.

A "long shot" view of yet another  one of the ten waterfalls in the park:.  (I have to admit, I lost track of which fall I was seeing at some of the locations, even thought the trail map listed all of them in sequence.  I wanted to experience looking at the actual flows, instead of a written guide, telling me the statistics of each flow!)

I was also concentrating on NOT missing the sign leading to the WinterFalls Trailhead, because that is the "cut-off", that would make my hike about seven miles long, instead of about eleven miles long. My plan was to complete the hike that would include the North Falls location, on the next morning.

Winter Falls has a height of 134 feet, yet it is not the tallest in the park.  It has an average flow rate of 100 cu ft/s  .  In researching information about this park, I learned there are several different types of waterfalls: Plunge; Horsetail; Cataract; Multi-step; Block, Cascade; Segmented; Tiered; Punchbowl; Fan, and Ephemeral.  Definitions of these various classifications can be seen on Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org)

As I started my ascent out of the steep canyon, the trail has many switchbacks to "soften/decrease" the angle of climbing!

 

As I reached the higher elevations, the trail began to flatten out, and there was more the feel of a rain forest, than what one experiences at the bottom of the canyon.  Notice the trees are shrouded in moss, and ferns are abundant.

I could tell I was getting close to the lodge area, when the trail turned from dirt to bricks.  This paved trail took me back to the parking lot, where my car was awaiting!

Now that I was able to get into my rental cabin, I snapped a few photos, before I had it completely covered with my hiking gear, sleeping bag, and luggage strewn everywhere!  I enjoyed a quiet and restful sleep there, and awoke the next morning ready to have another trek into the park.

However, the weather did not cooperate, so I decided to explore the remaining areas of Silver Falls State Park, by car---rather than on foot---since a steady downpour of rain was making it evident why everything here is so green!

Although I did not get to hike to North Falls, there is an excellent view point I was able to drive to, for the photograph below.  North Falls is 65 feet in height, with an average flow rate of 100 cu ft/s .

After a most enjoyable exploration of Silver Falls State Park, it occurred to me that I had searched the park, trying to get to know its heart.  Being along its well-marked trails, had helped me get rid of my anxious thoughts.  I saw nothing offensive within the park, and I pray that it will be a  parkway everlasting, for generations to come.  Hence, this blog post serves as the visual aid for one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses that says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  Psalm 139:23-24

If you would like to plan a visit to this amazing location of  numerous waterfalls, you can learn more at their website of www.stateparks.oregon.gov .  This trip gave me "MILES OF WATERFALL SMILES!"  Tricia