|
North Falls
Certainly someone
must know why most folks really like a waterfall they can walk behind. But
do we really need to know why except that North Falls is one of the best
such falls. A good flowing stream, 15 feet wide, drops 136 feet over a
promontory. The resulting 'cave' is 70 to 80 feet deep and the sound...
ah, that's part of the thrill.
Oh, yes, you can
view North Falls from your car. There is a good viewing point about a mile
beyond the parking area.
There is also an
Upper North Falls. Though it isn't as tall (only 65 feet) it is about
twice as wide and completely different from its big brother. You have to
take the trail under the road and climb the mountain on the other side. It
is short (about 400 yards) and very easy going.
All of this is in
Silver Falls State Park, a well developed facility with camping (tent and
RV), cabins, picnic facilities, horse camps, running water, even ADA
restrooms. To enter and just view the waterfalls, you still have to pay
the $3 entry fee. Guided one-hour daytime horse trail rides for people of
all abilities are available from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The $25 (per
person) includes horse rental. For more information or to make special
arrangements, about the horse rides, phone 503-873-3890.
For more
information about Silver Falls State Park, phone 800-551-6949. To make
camping reservations, phone 800-452-5687
For photos of
North
Falls, see:
For photos of
Upper
North
Falls, see:
How to get there...
see directions at:
South Falls
(continued
in column 2) |
(continued
from column 1)
South Falls
South Falls,
like North Falls, is another excellent waterfall you can walk behind. A
good flowing stream, 10 feet wide, drops 176 feet into a large pool. The
'cave' behind the waterfall gives you a view rarely seen. Though you can
walk behind several of the waterfalls in the Silver Falls State Park,
each is very different.
There is also a
Lower South Falls. True, it isn't as tall (only 93 feet), and you can
walk behind it, too, but it is completely different from its big
brother.
For photos of
South Falls, see:
For photos of
Lower
South
Falls, see:
How to get there:
From I-5 exit
253, follow OR-22 freeway to the intersection of OR-214 (about 7
miles) and then follow 214 to
Silver Falls
State Park
(about 10 miles).
For a 'clickable'
accommodations map of Oregon, visit:
There
are 11 major waterfalls in the park all connected by a 7-mile
loop trail. There are also individual parking areas throughout
the park at trailheads for most of these waterfalls. Most are
very easy and some even wheelchair friendly. It takes somewhere
around 3 hours to do the whole tour on the trail.
Hotel and Motel
accommodations, usually at a discount, are available in the following
communities:
For a
'clickable' accommodations map of Oregon, visit:
Note: if you are
on your way to the Columbia River waterfalls, take I-205 north to I-84. |
