Mazamas — For the Love of Mountains
Silver Falls State Park is the crown jewel of the Oregon State Parks system, being both Oregon's largest State Park (9,000 acres) and boasting one of America's most impressive waterfall day-hikes. There are no less than ten falls on this 8.7-mile loop (which can be reduced via two cutoff trails), and most of them are flat-out gorgeous. Most folks will handle the rolling elevation, with about 1,300 feet of total accumulation, in three to five hours. Unless it's a foul-weather day in the middle of a week in winter, count on seeing plenty of other visitors on the trail.
Activity Notes
Welcome to hike 3/6 of the conditioner series! This time, we are keeping the elevation gain around the same as it was for hike 2 (although slightly less) but upping the distance and the pace. Don't be intimidated, though. Most people handle the stats just fine because everything is fairly evenly distributed. As a bonus, we get up close and personal with some of the most gorgeous waterfalls in the state!
By now, you should have all of the 10+ essentials that we talked about over the last two weeks for winter wilderness travel and have them added to your bag.
| Other Information | |
|---|---|
| Driving Distance from Portland | 55 miles |
| Driving Time from Portland | 1 hours |
| Distance - Round Trip | 8 miles |
| Expected Duration | Car to car in one day |
| Interesting Features | Waterfalls |
| Awards Qualified | Waterfall Award |
