By Leon Pantenburg

Massive, old-growth trees in a temperate rainforest; a rippling creek that cascades over and between massive boulders, steep basalt canyon walls and most of all, gorgeous waterfalls…

The massive, old-growth trees at Silver Falls State Park can make you feel small!

That’s what my wife, Debbie, and I found last week when we took a mini-vacation on the Oregon coast while our daughter was at Girl Scout camp. Silver Falls State Park has on my list of places to go since we moved to Oregon 12 years ago, and the area didn’t disappoint me! In fact, it was more spectacular than I had imagined!

Silver Falls, Oregon’s largest state park at 9,064 acres, is located on Oregon Highway  214, 26 miles east of Salem. While the park is an easy drive from several metro population areas, solitude is just down the trail.

More than thirty miles of trails meander through Douglas fir, hemlock, and cedar stands placed in the forest floor carpeted with ferns, mosses, and wildflowers.

As day hikes go, the 8.7 mile-long Trail of Ten Falls/Canyon Trail, ranks very

highly in my personal list of favorite dayhikes and “Hikes I would Do Again at the Drop of a Hat.” Here’s why.

Nestled in the lower elevation of Oregon’s Cascade Mountains is a temperate rain forest where the Trail of Ten Falls/Canyon Trail is found. The Canyon Trail and the falls descend to a forest floor covered with ferns, mosses, and wildflowers. There are also stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, and cedar.

More than 30 miles of hiking trails are within the park boundaries.

The Canyon Trail is a nationally-recognized trail system that leads hikers along

the banks of the north and south forks of Silver Creek. It takes you to 10 waterfalls, ranging from the 177-foot South Falls, to Drake Falls (27 feet). Four of these falls have an amphitheater-like surrounding where (current park regs permitting) you can walk behind the falls and feel the spray.

The trail is easily traveled, with only a slight elevation difference. On  a hot day, the rushing water cools the air and makes the canyon a great refuge from summer heat. Sections of the trail are available to virtually everyone.

And there are plenty of locations that inspire those “Pinch-me-I’m-really-here-and-seeing-this” moments.

SurvivalCommonSense.com generally deals with urban and wilderness survival, survival knives, preparedness and other topics of  interest to a prepper, survivalist or anyone interested in a common sense approach to survival. But sometimes, you need to see things that nourish your soul. Silver Falls can do that.

Here’s a video with some great views of the Silver Falls State Park area. Click on : park video

The veiw down the valley from underneath North Falls.

The trail goes behind the north waterfall.

There are ten waterfalls on the 8.7-mile Trail of Ten Falls.

For more related SurvivalCommonSense.com tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:

• STOP: Use this exercise to reduce stress and focus your thoughts.
• Write a note to let people know where you went, before you left.
• Take your Ten Essentials on every outing.
• Dress with the right fabrics.
• Have a plan to make a tarp shelter.
• Carry lightweight, compact firestarter.
• Find the most effective fire ignition system.
• How to make charcloth, a material that can catch a spark from any source.
• Use charcloth as an effective method of catching a spark to make a fire.
• It can kill you: Hypothermia
• Hardtack: A great emergency food
• About Leon Pantenburg