Trail of Ten Falls – wanderingyuncks

Silver Falls State Park – Thanksgiving 2024

With November quickly coming to an end we hadn’t managed to get out on a trail yet. We skipped the first two weekends due to poor weather and then spent most of the next week at theme parks in Southern California (post). While we got plenty of walking in at the parks, I didn’t consider those days as our monthly outing. Both Heather and I came down with head colds following our return home, so another weekend came and went without a hike. The forecast was dry for Thanksgiving which provided an opportunity to get a morning hike in. I was feeling better, but Heather was still dealing with a lingering cough, so I set out alone to check out the newest trailhead at nearby Silver Falls State Park.

The North Canyon Trailhead was opened in June 2023 followed by the North Rim Trail in July 2023. I was looking forward to checking out these new features, so I parked at the new trailhead and set off following pointers for the North Rim Trail.

The route I’d planned was to take the new trail 0.8-miles to the North Falls Trailhead then take a 0.6-mile out-and-back detour on the Upper North Falls Trail to visit Upper North Falls. After returning to the North Falls Trailhead I would take the Trail of Ten Falls down into the canyon passing behind North Falls and following this trail past Twin Falls to the Winter Falls Trail where I would turn left to visit Winter Falls and then climb out of the canyon to the Winter Falls Trailhead.

At the Winter Falls Trailhead I would again pick up the Trail of Ten Falls aka the Rim Trail where I would turn right and follow it past the Nature Store. Shortly after passing the Nature Store the Trail of Ten Falls heads down into the canyon again to pass behind South Falls. The trail is also known as the Canyon Trail between this point and where it heads into the canyon near the North Falls Trailhead. I would follow the Trail of Ten Falls/Canyon Trail behind South and then Lower South Falls on the South Fork Silver Creek. The trail eventually leaves the south fork behind and then later crosses the North Fork Silver Creek before passing Lower North Falls. A short spur trail just East of North Falls leads to Double Falls on Hult Creek. After crossing Hult Creek the Trail of Ten Falls passes Drake Falls followed by Middle North Falls. I would take another short spur trail leading behind Middle North Falls before continuing another half mile to a junction with the Twin Falls Trail. Finally I would take the Twin Falls Trail uphill a half mile back to the North Canyon Trailhead. This route resulted in an approximately 8.8-mile hike with close to 1000′ of elevation gain.

I chose the route because it included roughly 1.5-miles of trail that was new to me. The new-to-me trail included the North Rim Trail, Twin Falls Trail, and a short section of the Winter Falls Trail (between Winter Falls and the Winter Falls Trailhead). I chose the direction (clockwise) because the last two times I’d visited the waterfalls I’d been going the opposite direction, so I wanted a different perspective this time around.

Onward to the pictures!
The North Rim Trail heads left at a fork with the Twin Falls Trail a short distance from the parking lot.

I stuck to the North Rim Trail here leaving another (short) trail to do next time.

The Nature Play Area along the loop trail I didn’t take.

One of two bridges along the North Rim Trail.

Railing near the North Falls Viewpoint.

North Falls from the viewpoint.

North Falls

Map located at the North Falls Trailhead.

Upper North Falls from the Upper North Falls Trail.

Upper North Falls.

The split in the Trail of Ten Falls where the Canyon Trail heads down to North Falls.

North Falls

Trail behind North Falls.

Behind North Falls.

I will always take pictures of these large boulders in the creek.

Hair ice, a phenomenon that only occurs on rotting wood when the correct mix of moisture, atmospheric conditions, and temperature combines with the fungus Exidiopsis effusa. There were quite a few occurrences this morning.

Trail marker at the Twin Falls Trail junction.

Twin Falls

Twin Falls is a tough one to get a good clear view of the full waterfall. Recent rainfall had provided good flow for this fall which helps with the visibility.

This is Twin Falls on July 7, 2006.

All the rain had the side creeks and falls flowing as well.

Nearing the Winter Falls Trail and its bridge over the creek.

The view from the bridge.

Winter Falls from the Winter Falls Trail.

Winter Falls

It’s a steep couple of tenths of a mile climb from Winter Falls up to the trailhead which warmed me up enough that I removed my beanie, buff, and made a switch to lighter gloves shortly after I’d turned back onto the Trail of Ten Falls/Rim Trail.

The forecast had called for sunny skies, but we were also dealing with an air stagnation warning. For a brief moment I thought the fog might burn off, but that never materialized and by the time I arrived at South Falls more fog had rolled in.

There are some nice big trees scattered throughout the park.

Trail of Ten Falls/Canyon Trail above South Falls.

South Falls

Behind South Falls

For a short loop just to South Falls you can cross the bridge and return to the rim.

The trail below heading for Lower South Falls.

From behind Lower South Falls. I scared a poor woman so badly as I neared the falls. She was setting her phone up on a tripod for a selfie and didn’t see me coming nor could she hear me with the roar of the falls until I was just a couple of feet away. When I said that I was just going to sneak behind her she let out the loudest scream I’ve heard in a while.

Ankle deep pools behind the falls.

Lower South Falls

The mile long Maple Trail (right) allows for a shorter loop to both the falls on South Fork Silver Creek.

This is now the North Fork Silver Creek.

Unnamed falls on a side creek.

The footbridge over the North Fork Silver Creek.

Pool below the bridge.

Lower North Falls

Footbridge over Hult Creek and the spur trail to Double Falls.

Double Falls

Back on the Canyon Trail.

More fog.

Drake Falls

Middle North Falls

Spur trail (right) to Middle North Falls.

Behind Middle North Falls.

Splash pool

The Winter Falls Trail footbridge spanning the creek ahead on the right.

Chipmunk.

I saw a few birds (and heard several more) and saw a deer on my drive through the park, but this was the only wildlife that I managed to even try and get a photo of on the hike.

Twin Falls again which meant I was nearly to the Twin Falls Trail.

Twin Falls Trail junction.

It was another stiff climb out of the canyon. There was a bench at a switchback with a somewhat obstructed view of Twin Falls.

The Twin Falls Trail leveled out near its end.

Arriving back at the junction with the North Rim Trail.

I spotted several ruffed grouse as I was driving out of the trailhead.

I really enjoyed this loop. It began and ended with waterfalls and saved Middle North Falls, which I’ve decided is my favorite of the ten, until near the end. It was also a great time of the year to visit to see the falls full from the recent rains. This was my seventh visit to the park and even with my 2022 perimeter loop (post) there are still a number of trails I’ve yet to explore away from the waterfall area. I’m already looking at possible routes for the next visit. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Silver Falls State Park Thanksgiving

Silver Falls State Park

It’s been a while since we’ve had a recent trip report to post but we finally took our March hike on Heather’s birthday. We are in the midst of training for the Corvallis Half-Marathon so we were looking for something on the shorter end and without too much elevation gain. After our first plan was scrapped due to our most recent snowfall we turned to – Silver Falls State Park. We had done this hike a couple of times in the past before starting the blog. In fact our first visit to the park happened on a hot day in August, before we had started hiking, and resulted in us thinking we might die of heat stroke causing us to be unable to visit all the waterfalls. We returned slightly more prepared in July of 2006 and completed the hike which we consider our first true hike. We went back once again on 7/30/2010 when Dominique chose this hike as his pick during our vacation that year.

It turns out we were there a little early. The posted hours for the day use areas were 8am to 8pm which hadn’t been clear on the park website and the entrance to the South Falls day use area was still gated so we began our hike at the North Falls Trailhead.

There is a $5 day use fee which we attempted to pay but the envelope box had been removed, presumably for the night, so after filling out an envelope we left the stub on our dash along with a note that the box was not in place so we would drop our payment off on the way out. With that taken care of we took a footbridge over North Fork Silver Creek and followed a pointer for Upper North Falls.

Sign for Upper North Falls

The trail immediately passed under Highway 214 then in a quarter mile brought us to the 65′ Upper North Falls.

Upper North Falls

After admiring the fall we returned the way we’d come and after passing back under the highway faced a choice at a junction. To the left the Rim Trail headed uphill and would follow the highway along the canyon rim to the South Falls Day Use area while the right hand fork would lead us on a longer trek through the canyon and the other waterfalls.
Trail junction in Silver Falls State Park

The question was did we want to end with the more scenic trail through the canyon or start with the canyon figuring that there would be fewer people on the trails earlier in the morning. The prospect of fewer people won out and we took the Canyon Trail along the creek (please note dogs are banned on the Canyon Trail). Not far from the junction the trail descends past a sign for North Falls and passes under basalt overhangs.

Trail to North Falls

North Falls came into view as we descended some stairs before turning back towards the falls and ultimately passing them.

North Falls

View from behind North Falls

The water was roaring as it crashed down into the splash pool. It was a stark difference from our July 2010 visit.
North Falls
July 30, 2010

North Falls March 29, 2018

The trail was now on the north side of the creek and remained fairly level for over a mile as it passed through the canyon. We spotted quite a few flowers starting to bloom along this stretch.
North Fork Silver Creek

Toothwort

Skunk cabbage

Salmonberry blossoms Salmonberry

Blossoms along North Fork Silver Creek Indian plum

The next waterfall up on the Trail of Ten Falls was 31′ Twin Falls.
Sign for Twin Falls

Twin Falls

A short distance from Twin Falls (and about 1.5 miles from the North Falls Trailhead) we came to a junction with the Winter Falls Trail.
Footbridge over North Fork Silver Creek

The half mile Winter Falls Trail starts at the Winter Falls Trailhead along Highway 214 passing Winter Falls and ending at the Canyon Trail. We turned left onto a footbridge crossing North Fork Silver Creek and headed for Winter Falls.
Footbridge over North Fork Silver Creek

The trail was fairly level as it led to the 134′ waterfall.
Winter Falls

Winter Falls

Later in the year Winter Falls all but dries up so this was the first time we’d gotten to see this waterfall.

After checking this fall off our list we returned to the Canyon Trail and continued downstream toward Middle North Falls.
Sign for Middle North Falls

In just .2 miles we came to the side trail down to Middle North Falls.

Here there was another opportunity to go behind the waterfall.
Middle North Falls

Trail behind Middle North Falls

View from behind Middle North Falls

The side trail continued on the far side of the fall wrapping around the canyon to a great view of the cascade.
Middle North Falls

Middle North Falls

After oohing and ahhing at this waterfall we returned to the Canyon Trail which also had several nice views of this fall. Of all the waterfalls on this hike this one was probably the most visibly different from our previous visits.
Middle North Falls July 7, 2006

Middle North Falls July 30, 2010

Middle North Falls March 29, 2018

A little downstream from Middle North Falls we came to a viewing platform above little Drake Falls.

Drake Falls

Less than a half mile from the Winter Falls Trail junction we arrived at another junction. This time with a very short spur trail to Double Falls.
Sign for Double Falls

Here again the difference in water volume was very apparent.
Double Falls

Double Falls July 7, 2006

Double Falls July 30, 2010

Double Falls March 29, 2018

Just beyond the spur trail to Double Falls the Canyon Trail passed 30′ Lower North Falls.

Lower North Falls

After the flurry of waterfalls in the three quarters of a mile between Twin Falls and Lower North Falls things settled down. The trail continued on the north side of the creek for about a quarter of a mile before crossing over on a footbridge.
Footbridge over North Fork Silver Creek

The trail then stayed on the south side of the creek passing an unnamed seasonal waterfall.
North Fork Silver Creek

Unnamed waterfall in Silver Falls State Park

The trail soon veered away from North Fork Silver Creek and a mile from the spur trail to Double Falls we arrived at a junction with the Maple Ridge Trail.
Maple Ridge Trail junction

The Maple Ridge Trail allows for a shorter loop option if you start at the South Falls Day Use Area but that loop only passes three waterfalls. It was however our escape route on our first visit when the heat of August and our lack of carrying water forced us to abandon our attempt at the full loop. The Canyon Trail here rejoined a creek but not the North Fork Silver Creek. This was now the South Fork Silver Creek. A short distance upstream we came to Lower South Falls.

Lower South Falls

Lower South Falls is another that the trail passes behind but before we headed behind the water a varied thrush landed on a branch just a few feet from us. I’ve mentioned before that these birds are my nemesis as I can rarely get a decent photo of one. This guy was no exception, despite his sitting on the branch for a good 15 seconds or more I could not get the camera to focus on him.
Varied Thrush at Lower South Falls

Having failed to get a clear picture of the bird we headed behind the waterfall and out the other side.
Lower South Falls

View from behind Lower South Falls

Lower South Falls

Again the difference in the appearance from our previous visits to this waterfall was obvious.
Lower South Falls July 7, 2006

Lower South Falls July 30, 2010

Lower South Falls March 29, 2018

Another series of stairs climbed up above Lower South Falls which was probably the most strenuous part of the hike. The trail then leveled out again for about a mile before arriving at South Falls.
South Fork Silver Creek

South Falls

A footbridge over the creek below the falls allows for a short loop from the day use area. We passed by the footbridge opting to pass behind this waterfall as well.
South Falls

South Falls

View from behind South Falls

A comparison of our visits shows the difference that the timing of a visit makes.
South Falls July 30, 2010

South Falls March 29, 2018

Doing the loop in the direction we’d chosen made South Falls the 10th of the 10 waterfalls along the Trail of Ten Falls but that didn’t mean it was the last waterfall we’d visit on the hike. That honor went to Frenchie Falls. A sign part way up the trail from South Falls pointed toward this little fall.
Sign for Frenchie Falls

Even at this time of the year it wasn’t much more than a wisp of water and it lacks a good vantage point but it’s a named fall none the less.
Frenchie Falls

After checking out Frenchie Falls we completed the climb out of the canyon to a viewpoint above South Falls.
Plaque above South Falls

Looking down from the top of South Falls

We then looped around a picnic area and into the South Falls Historic District.

South Falls Lodge

Nature Store

Here we passed the cafe, store and theater before arriving at a junction with the start of the Maple Ridge and Rim Trails.
Rim and Maple Ridge Trails

We followed the Rim Trail through a picnic area and into the forest.

Rim Trail

The last of the winter snow was melting as the first of the spring flowers were coming to life.
Snow along the Rim Trail

Violet

The Rim Trail passed through the Winter Falls Trailhead parking but offered no views of the waterfall. The only real view of any of the falls came near the end of the 2.1 mile trail when North Falls was visible down in the canyon below.
North Falls from the Rim Trail

The pay box was in place at the trailhead (which was now full of cars) so we dropped off our $5 before driving back home. With all of our previous visits having come during the summer months it was great to visit when the water levels were higher. A few more weeks will bring out the flowers adding to the beauty of this hike. Happy Trails!

Flickr: 2018
2010
2006