Ever want to see a boat load of beautiful nature in a very short amount of time?  You only need to hit up Silver Falls State Park if you’re in Oregon.

8.7 miles of hiking yields you 10 gorgeous waterfalls.  The added bonus……only 500 feet of elevation throughout.  The signs at several of the trailheads (you have several options for places to start) all list the full loop as “moderate to difficult”.  That’s just if you’re out of shape I guess.  I’d gauge it more as slightly harder than “easy”.

We started from the south end of the park and it takes less than 200 yards to see the first waterfall.  SCORE!

While not all the falls are this stunning, they all have their own beauty.  The trail leads behind several of the falls, offering you a very neat perspective.

We were so impressed (overwhelmed?) with just the first waterfall, that it took us 30 minutes to hike a massive 0.70 miles!  Luckily that was not our pace for the whole adventure.

I could go on and on about how great this hike is, but I can’t do it justice in words or my photos.  Just pack your car, head out early and go to Sublimity, OR.  Call in sick tomorrow if you have to.

The one thing I will say is choose clockwise or counterclockwise depending on what you want to see.  Going clockwise from the south end you see waterfalls very quickly.  The last 1.2 miles yields none though.  So if you want to ease into it, head counterclockwise and you’ll get an easy 1.2 mile walk to warm up before stopping to take A LOT of pictures along the rest of the hike.

When you think about it, it is an 8.7 mile hike with 10 waterfalls.  Take out that 1.2 miles of nothing and you’ve now got 10 waterfalls in just 7.5 miles.  That’s a pretty good waterfalls per mile ratio.

Another note…..If you’re coming from Portland area, head through Woodburn and Silverton to get to the park.  Silverton has some great little shops and dining in the downtown.

a boat load of pictures here.

Thank for reading,

-Pete