Silver Falls State Park Finale

We went to Silver Falls State Park this week.  We had a few more waterfalls we wanted to see before we move.

We parked near Winter Falls.  We'd seen this one on a previous hike,

but we enjoyed seeing it again. 

Besides, we didn't see it like this before.  I like the sun's ray shining down on the waterfall.  Winter Falls is 134 feet tall.

The next waterfall we came to was Middle North Falls.  The water drops 106 feet.  

We didn't know anything about the waterfalls we were going to see on this hike, so we had told the kids that there might not be any more that we could walk behind.

We were wrong.  You could totally walk behind this one and it turned out to be one of our very favorites.

Logan loved it because we were so close to the water.

The trail then brings you around to a completely different view of the falls.  Middle North Falls is on a spur trail.  You first come at the falls from the side.  Then the trail leads you behind the falls and around to the front of the falls, where it eventually ends and you have to turn around and head back again.

Middle North Falls from the end of the spur trail.  Isn't that beautiful?

We even saw a nice rainbow over the river there. 

The kids on the Middle North Falls trail.

The 3rd waterfall we hit is called Drake Falls.  It's a 27 foot drop and this is as close as we could get to it.  The trail just kind of overlooks it.  

By the time we got near the 4th waterfall of the hike, we were ready for a rest.  Poor Taylor.  She looks exhausted. 

After a minute or two, the kids were ready to run ahead the last several feet to Double Falls. 

 Aptly named for it's two tiered drop. 

Double Falls.  The water falls a total of 178 feet.

The last waterfall of the day was Lower North Falls, a 30 foot drop. 

And this is as close as we got to this one.   Five waterfalls in one hike, in about 4 miles.  This was also our turn around spot for the day.

The trail and forest are so pretty right now, with all the vibrant new growth of Spring.  It's beautiful.  And when the kids weren't talking we could enjoy the sounds of nature, water rushing over falls, water trickling over rocks, birds chirping and even bees buzzing.  

So after about 14 miles of hiking and during 3 separate trips to Silver Falls State Park we'd seen 9 of the 10 waterfalls!  We were only missing one waterfall.  Well, we made a goal of seeing them all.  

So the kids and I went out by ourselves to track down the last, missing waterfall.  

Turns out it was only a quarter of a mile from the parking lot, in the opposite direction we went on our very first trip out to Silver Falls.  Had we known that, we totally would have done it then.  That was a minor oversight on our part. 

The kids and I had fun though, finding that last remaining waterfall.

 We came across small waterfalls right on the trail.

And they just couldn't resist the pull of the water.  

North Fork of the Silver River. 

After a whopping 1/4 mile we came to Upper North Falls.  

 The water plunges 65 feet into a large, deep pool.  

And then continues its journey down river.  It has about half a dozen more waterfalls to cascade over as it heads to it's junction with the South Fork of the Silver River.  

More pictures of the North Fork of the Silver River, with it's turbulent ride.  

This spot is beautiful, but isn't technically a waterfall.  It's heading toward one though (North Falls) and isn't very far away at all.

And since it wasn't that far (and we'd driven all that way and only hiked half a mile) we decided to visit North Falls again.

Another rainbow over the river.  Can you see it?  I'm afraid it doesn't show up as well as in real life. 

North Falls is the first waterfall we saw, on our first trip to Silver Falls.  We were all so excited to actually get to walk behind a waterfall.  It was Taylor's dream come true.

With all the new growth of Spring, the colors were much more vibrant this time.

So we did it.  We saw all 10 of the waterfalls at the park.  It took 4 trips to do it.  Each one was beautiful.  I don't think we could choose a favorite, but I especially liked South Falls, Lower South Falls, North Falls and Middle North Falls.  

I'm glad we finished our tour of Silver Falls State Park because James only has one week left as an intern!!!  Our year of rotations is over in just one week!!!   I can't believe it.

And we move in less than 2 weeks!   

James graduates from optometry school in 2 weeks!!!  I'm starting to get excited!  Very excited!