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

This is the second hike in a 4-hike series designed and offered to help 2024 BCEP students improve their hiking fitness and get ready for BCEP.

Individuals who have applied for 2024 BCEP will be given priority over others.

You are welcome to sign-up for the conditioning hikes once you have submitted a BCEP application. You don't need to wait for BCEP acceptance. Having signed-up for hikes, you can participate regardless of your BCEP status.

Other hikes in this series  can be found on the calendar by looking for the "Pre-BCEP Conditioning Hikes, Series 1, Hike #"  title.

Series 1 of these hikes is designed for students who will begin their BCEP class in the first half of March (2/28 to 3/15).

Series 2 and Series 3 are offered for students whose BCEP classes do not begin until after March 16th.

The actual hike and location may change depending on conditions, but each hike series will begin with an easy to moderate hike (less than 10 miles and less than 1500' elevation gain) and then progress until the fourth and last hike in the series will be either more than 15 miles or  more than 2500' of elevation gain.

Any changes to the specific hike and location will be added to this description and distributed by email to the participants approximately one week prior to the hike.

These hikes will give you an opportunity to improve your fitness and test out your hiking gear and clothing in winter conditions, and practice proper layering to match the weather and pace of the hike in order to maintain a consistent body temperature and avoid overheating or getting chilled.

Unless otherwise indicated , these hikes will take most or all of the day, and you will bring a lunch and snacks to consume on the hike.

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
FIND AN UPCOMING ACTIVITY ON THE Calendar