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Past Activity

Silver Falls

  • Start date: 11/11/2021

  • Start time: 12:00 AM

  • End date: 11/11/2021

  • End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

We'll park at the South Falls Lodge and start our clockwise loop of the trail there. It's a well maintained trail, but still, it will be slippery, so wear shoes with good treads and bring poles if you think you might need them.

The long range forecast so far says no rain on the 11th, but you never know, and in any case, it gets wet behind the waterfalls.

Silver Falls is a state park, so parking will be $5 and your Geezer pass won't work here.

  • Event Leader: Kathie Carpenter

  • Event Leader Phone: 541-505-2370

  • Event Leader Email: kathiec@uoregon.edu

  • Assistant Leader:

  • Event category: Trips

  • Area Type: Mountain

  • Departure Location: Amazon Park, 28th & Hilyard entrance parking lot

  • Rating: Moderate

  • Roundtrip total drive miles: 180

  • Season: 2021

  • Permits Required:

  • Event Status: Passed

  • Supplies and Equipment Required: Sturdy shoes with good tread, poles if you hike with poles, lunch, water and rain gear just in case.

  • participant prerequisites:

  • Conditions:

  • Total Distance: 7.5

  • Member Fees: 1

  • Elevation Gain: 950

  • Non-Member Fees: 5

  • Committee: Trips

  • Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

Mid-November is a surprisingly great time to hike the Trail of Ten Falls at Silver Falls State Park. The water was the highest any of us had seen, and the crowds were the sparsest any of us had seen. The autumn leaves had all dropped, but that made it easier to see the ferns and moss that were plumped up from the recent heavy rains. There was water everywhere - pouring, dripping, oozing, splashing and cascading from the canyon walls. Several stretches of the trail were completely flooded and we had to scramble up the hillside to get safely through.

We started at the North Falls trailhead and hiked counter clockwise so that we could have lunch by the fire in the lodge. Unfortunately, going that less familiar way made it easier to get lost, and we cut off the entire stretch of the trail that would have taken us behind South Falls. Luckily nobody complained, and despite the non-stop rain, I think everyone had a good time. At least they said they did.