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
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 photos
of North Falls, see:
For photos
of Upper North
Falls, see:
See also: South
Falls
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.
