One activity that we did in Oregon was the Trail of Ten Falls Loop hike. About an hour and a half outside of of Portland, we went a bit outside of the city for the hopes of some great scenery.
Located in Silver Falls State Park, this hike is situated next to cabins and a community center. It’s a well maintained, beautiful area with ample parking available.
At the very start of the hike there is a lookout overseeing the first waterfall, aka South Falls. We headed a short way down some gravel and paved walkways, soon reaching the bottom of the first fall. (This first one is hardly a “hike”, but rather just a short walk down from the lookout.)
We decided to continue on in search for the next waterfall. About a mile in, we reached the 2nd, Lower South Falls. This particular one was special as you could walk behind the falls, something we’ve never done before! It’s beautiful, fun, and one of the reasons why we drove out for this hike.
We turned around a little bit after seeing another fall, ok with a 1.5 mile hike for the day. People do continue toward the other 7 falls of course, in which you’ll loop around and end up with a 9 mile hike.
If you are ever in the Portland area, this is a great hike to try out! What we accomplished was pretty easy, but we like that you can increase the difficulty as you continue to each waterfall. There are plenty of picture worthy spots, and being able to walk behind a fall is pretty memorable! Definitely one we would recommend.
