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 South Falls is one of the best such falls.
A good flowing stream, 10 feet wide, drops 176 feet into a large pool. The
'cave' behind the waterfall gives you a view rarely seen. Though you can walk
behind several of the waterfalls in the
Silver Falls State Park, each is very different.
There is also a Lower
South Falls. True, it isn't as tall (only 93 feet), and you can walk behind
it, too, but it is completely different from its big brother.
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, Silver
Falls State Park
(about 10 miles).
For photos
of South Falls, see:
For photos
of Lower South
Falls, see:
See also: North
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.
