On our second visit to Portland, Oregon, our friend Natasha insisted that we check out the Trail of Ten Falls located in Silver Falls State Park. According to Natasha (and many others), the Trail of Ten Falls is one of the best waterfall trails in Oregon, featuring 10 breathtaking waterfalls and lush, enchanting landscape. The Trail of Ten Falls also runs directly behind some of these waterfalls. It is a novel experience to be able to see the thunderous flow of water from a different vantage point. The full loop is about 7.8 miles (with additional detours) and relatively easy. If you don’t feel like hiking the full loop, you can divide the Trail of Ten Falls into shorter routes. However, we recommend doing the full loop because this trail is beautiful the whole way! In this blog, we will go over the full loop.
South Falls Day Use Area has a very big paved lot. North Falls and Winter Falls lots are much smaller.
There is a fee to park at Silver Falls State Park. For more information, please visit the park’s website. At the time we went, it was $10/vehicle.
7.4+ mile loop. We did close to 9 miles with all the detours.
1,207 ft
Easy Moderate
2 – 6 hours
February through April is going to be the peak time for water flowing from the falls, however, it is rainy season. The fall season at Silver Falls State Park is especially popular because of beautiful yellow and gold leaves. Summer is the busiest season but you’ll get many trail snacks such as blackberries and salmonberries. If you go in the summer, go early on a weekday.
Very nice restrooms at the South Falls Day Use. There is porta-potty at the North Falls parking lot.
If you’re doing the full loop, dogs are not allowed. Pets are prohibited on all waterfall trails, except for the Rim trail, bike path and Upper North Falls trail.
The Trail of Ten Falls is located in the Silver Falls State Park near Silverton, Oregon. It is about 20 miles east of Salem and about 60 miles from Portland. Because of its proximity to both Salem and Portland, Silver Falls State Park, especially the Trail of Ten Falls, is a very popular hiking destination.
There are multiple access points to the Trails of Ten Falls, with the two main options being the South Falls and North Falls trailheads. At these two trailheads, there are pay stations to pay for parking. At Silver Falls State Park, you will need to pay for day-use parking. The machines at South Falls Day Use take only credit cards, while the one at North Falls takes only cash. When we went, it was $10 per vehicle. Both of the parking lots in front of these trailheads are paved. The North Falls lot is smaller, while the South Falls lot has tons of parking spaces. There are other roadside parking lots (other access points); however, you still need to pay a fee. Unconveniently, there aren’t any pay stations there. If you have the State Park annual pass or camping reservation, you can use that instead.
Because we had a full day traveling through the Oregon Coast the day before, we didn’t get to the Trail of Ten Falls trailhead and start our hike until around 10:30 am. It was on a weekend, so the trail was quite busy. I wish we had started our hike a lot earlier! Our adventure started from the South Falls Day Use Area. From here, you can either go counter-clockwise to hike along the rim of the canyon and the main road, or go clockwise to South Falls. In this blog, we’ll start clockwise to stop by South Falls first.
The Trail of Ten Falls loop can be a bit confusing due to intersecting trails. However, it is very well-marked. The loop consists of two main trails: Canyon Trail and Rim Trail. As long as you’re paying attention to the signage along the way, you won’t get lost. Don’t forget to either take a photo of the trail map or pick up a free printed map at the trailheads before starting.
From the trailhead, we walked past the restrooms and the South Falls Lodge and Cafe to the stone circle. At this stone circle, since we’re going clockwise, we turned left to follow signs for the South Falls. This section of the trail is paved. After leaving the stone circle, the trail passed by the Nature Store. It is a nice souvenir store, so if you have time, don’t forget to stop by. The Trail of Ten Falls then continues for a short distance before branching off to the left to follow the Canyon Trail. There are a couple of signs at the intersection. From here, the trail turns into a dirt, sometimes rocky path.
After that left turn, the trail stops at an upper viewpoint where you can get a glimpse of the South Falls from the top. From here, follow the sign for Canyon Trail to drop down toward your first waterfall, the South Falls, of the Trail of Ten Falls hike.
South Falls is probably the most well-known waterfall in Silver Falls State Park. At 177 ft tall, it is also the highest waterfall at the park. Because of its ease of access, South Falls is the most popular waterfall along the Trail of Ten Falls. If you don’t feel like doing the full hike, you can hike an easy 1-mile loop to see just the South Falls. This also means there are tons of visitors here if you visit during peak times and seasons.
From the Canyon Trail, we could see the South Falls becoming more visible and more thunderous as we hiked closer. The view is breathtaking. There’s nothing more impressive than the tons of water blasting down the alcove to a clear teal pool. And the best thing is, the Trail of Ten Falls actually runs right behind this waterfall. From behind, we could feel the spray of the water. We also love standing right behind the waterfalls, looking through the curtain of water while listening to the soothing sound of rushing water.
The views of the South Falls continue as follows along the trail toward a small scenic bridge. If you’re only doing the 1-mile loop, you can take this small bridge to return. We continue on our way toward our second waterfalls, the Lower South Falls. By the way, the view of the falls from the bridge is quite lovely.
After leaving the South Falls, the Trail of Ten Falls runs along the Silver Creek. Even though the waterfalls are the stars of this trail, however, the entire Trail of Ten Falls is absolutely beautiful on its own. Lush vegetation and tall trees covered in green moss line the entire trail. It feels like you’re walking through an enchanted forest. And if you’re here at the right season, there are salmonberries, thimbleberries, and blackberries everywhere. It remind us of our hike in Trinidad in Redwood National Park.
Less than a mile, we reached the switchback stairs. As we descend the stairs, we can see the Lower South Falls. Lower South Falls is only 93 ft as opposed to the 177 ft South Falls. The Trail of Ten Falls also runs behind it, similar to the South Falls. The area around the Lower South Falls is more lush than the South Falls. There are verdant ferns lining sections of the wall.
Although the Lower South Falls is shorter than the South Falls, it is as impressive. Because of its more rectangular shape, the curtain of water seemed a lot wider. Once again, we couldn’t help but lean against the stone walls bordering the trail to take in the view and sound.
Once we leave the Lower South Falls, the Trail of Ten Falls once again weaves through luxuriant trees and vegetation. Along the way, the views of the creek are also quite pretty. There are a couple of sections where it turns into calm teal pools.
A little less than 1 mile, we caught a glimpse of the Lower North Falls in the distance. Compared to the first two, the Lower North Falls isn’t as impressive. It’s only 30ft in height. However, Lower North Falls is still very picturesque. We love the way the lush vegetation frames the waterfalls perfectly. If you want to go for a swim or have a closer look, you can hike down to the pool at the base of the waterfalls. There are a few worn paths on the side of the main trails leading down.
Not too far from the Lower North Falls is the spur trail for Double Falls. This spur trail is very short, only 0.1 mile. It is right before the footbridge over Hult Creek. Double Falls is 184ft. It is technically the tallest waterfall in Silver Falls State Park. However, it drops in two sections, the first is 10ft, and the second drop is 174ft. In our opinion, the South Falls is still the reigning champion as it consists of one continuous drop at 177 ft.
Double Falls is most beautiful during the rainy months of winter and spring. In the summer, its volume reduces significantly and sometimes dries up completely. When we went at the beginning of June, there was still a decent amount of water. By the way, to get to the bottom of the falls, you’re gonna to maneuver over a decent amount of logs.
After we got back from the spur trail and crossed over the footbridge, we soon arrived at the small wooden platform for Drake Falls. Drake Falls is one of our least favorite along the Trail of Ten Falls. This 27-foot falls sloping gently over a basalt ledge before dropping into a teal pool. You could only see these waterfalls from the platform. Also, the views are obscured by trees. So it seemed very underwhelming.
Fortunately, just a short distance from Drake Falls, we were treated to another impressive waterfall, the Middle North Falls. The view of the waterfalls framed by the trees is quite charming. There is a short side trail leading up to and behind the waterfalls. Middle North Falls is the third of four waterfalls at Silver Falls State Park and on the Trail of Ten Falls, which has a pathway that goes behind it. However, it is the only one where the pathway dead ends after the falls.
We really like Middle North Falls. It is one of our top 3 favorite waterfalls along the Trail of Ten Falls. Since the trail is narrower with no barrier or railing, it feels like you’re super close to the waterfalls. At 106ft, it is quite imposing, especially if you visit after heavy rain or during the rainier months. Apparently, the Middle North Falls could reach 60 feet wide! It’s probably not as wide as Rainbow Falls in Mammoth Lakes or Shoshone Falls in Idaho, but we bet still a breathtaking sight to see.
After getting back to the Canyon Trail, it is a short distance before we reach a junction. If you want to cut the trail short, you can turn right to cross over the bridge and follow the Winter Trail to the other side of the loop. Since we’re doing the full loop, we continue to go straight.
At about 0.3 miles, we reached the viewpoint for Twin Falls. This is another underwhelming fall on the Trail of Ten Falls. It is tucked away behind the trees, so the views are quite limited.
Once we leave Twin Falls, it is about 1.1 miles to North Falls. The trail weaves under some towering trees and squeezes through a few almost overgrown sections. It also passes by one of my favorite trees on the Trail of Ten Falls. The tree’s roots interwoven into a platform with a hobbit hole at the bottom. It leans from the side of the trail toward Rush Creek. It was really interesting. Along the way, there are also a couple of bridges crossing over the creek.
Tumbling 136ft over the alcove’s roof, North Falls is another one of our top 3 favorite waterfalls in Silver Falls State Park. North Falls is the third-tallest waterfall and also the only waterfall that you can see without getting out of your car in the park. If you just want to see North Falls, you can take the less than 1-mile hike from the North Falls trailhead.
The Trail of Ten Falls also runs behind this beautiful waterfall through the alcove. This alcove is a lot deeper and bigger than the other ones. Therefore, it was really unique walking behind the North Falls. Since the cavern is so large, the sound of roaring water echoes throughout. It is significantly louder than the other falls. Although there are more beautiful waterfalls, we love every minute of this experience. The deep cavern before the North Falls really makes this waterfall the most unique one.
After leaving the North Falls, the Canyon Trail follows steep sets of stairs to go up the canyon. It then runs along some moss-covered walls and trees before reaching another junction (A). Here, if you go right to follow the Canyon Trail, you’ll get to the other side of the loop. However, we wanted to make a detour to see the Upper North Falls. So, we follow the trail to the right toward the North Falls parking lot. Once we finish with our detour, this is where we will return.
Soon enough, we reached another junction where we also went left to follow the sign for Upper North Falls. The Trail of Ten Falls dips under a concrete bridge before turning left again, one more time following the sign for Upper North Falls. At this last junction, if you go right, you will enter the backcountry area.
Upper North Falls is another one of our top 3 waters in Silver Springs State Park. It is located about 0.3 miles from the North Falls trailhead. This waterfall is the only waterfall in the park that isn’t on the trail loop. However, we highly recommend making that detour. It is quite spectacular.
At 65ft high, the Upper North Falls is a beauty. It pours into a small teal color pool and then connects over to the creek. This is one of the few waterfalls at the park that you can stand at its base. It is even more beautiful the closer you get to it. During the rainy season, this waterfall can be almost as wide as it is tall! Due to its location, it is also often overlooked by visitors, so there are fewer people here. We were there by ourselves for a good 15 minutes before another group showed up.
Once we left the Upper North Falls, we followed the trail to get back on the Canyon Trail. At the junction (A), we kept going straight to complete our loop. The rest of this trail weaves through mossy trees and lush vegetation. It also runs along the main road, OR-214, so we can occasionally hear traffic noises.
At 1.1 miles, we reached the junction for Winter Trail and Winter Falls. There is a small parking lot here. Winter Falls is the last of our waterfalls on the Trail of Ten Falls. Winter Falls only appear during the rainier winter months, hence the name. In the summer, it is nothing but a trickle of water. Since we visited during the summer, we skipped this one. You can see these waterfalls from the Winter Trail. When it’s flowing, Winter Falls is quite imposing, at 134ft.
After leaving Winter Falls, it is another mile or so because we reached the parking lot for the South Falls Day Use Area. Along the way, the Rim Trail section of the Trail of Ten Falls intersects with the paved bike trail. You can stay on the bike trail for a short distance. However, make sure to stay on the Rim Trail because the bike trail veers off to the left eventually. Along the way, we came across a few more interesting trees. One of my favorites is a tree growing on top of a tree stump. It looks like it’s sitting on top of its throne. Once the trail crossed over the road, it turned into a paved trail. From here, it is a short distance before we reach the stone circle and then the parking lot.
If you’re in Oregon, we highly recommend doing this hike. It has so much to see for not a lot of effort.
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These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is Vy's favorite hiking bag! It has tons of room for snacks and water!
It's always good to bring a GPS tracker with you. We use the Garmin inReach.
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
If you tend to have foot blisters on hikes, get this! We use this all the time.
These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
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Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of Live That Adventure. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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