Silver Falls State Park

The Trail of Ten Falls runs about thirteen kilometres through a canyon cut into Columbia River basalt, and the walk-behind falls are the reason it is unusual: the lava flows here have a hard upper layer over a softer weathered zone beneath, so the streams have hollowed out alcoves behind the curtain of water at four of the falls, and the trail goes through them. South Falls, about fifty-four metres, is the largest. The park was proposed as a national park in the 1920s and rejected because logging and quarrying had damaged it too much; Oregon took it instead and the forest has recovered since. Civilian Conservation Corps crews built much of the trail and the South Falls Lodge in the 1930s.

What you actually see

• Ten waterfalls on one loop - about thirteen kilometres.
• Four you walk behind - through alcoves under the basalt cap.
• South Falls at about fifty-four metres - the largest.
• A national park rejected in the 1920s - the land was too damaged then.

When to go

March to June for flow; October to November for colour. A full day.

Honest expectations

The full loop is thirteen kilometres with substantial climbing. Trails behind the falls are wet, slippery and cold with spray. Winter storms close sections. Summer weekends fill the lots by mid-morning.

Nearby

Silverton is west; the Willamette Valley wineries are north.