For President's Day we went on an amazing hike with our great friends, the Hedgecock's and their family. Silver Falls is a waterfall paradise as it boasts ten waterfalls, year-round. In only 4.8 miles we saw nine waterfalls. There are a ton of pictures on this post, so consider yourself warned; it was all so incredibly beautiful and fun, I had a hard time only choosing a few.
Here we go!
The hike began at this beautiful lodge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1941.
In the lodge you could warm up by the fire or purchase some hot chocolate at the cafe while relaxing on the gorgeous myrtlewood tables and you can also learn more about the park and its various activities.
This picture gives you an idea of what our surroundings looked like during the hike - dense and lush.
Peter, our faithful tour guide, with his trusty side-kick at our first waterfall. Peter was quite knowledgeable about the falls and told us all kinds of fun trivial facts about the falls.
#1 South Falls: This is the most well-known fall in the park and is only about 150 feet from the lodge itself. 'Back in the day', aka 1920's a local man would send a car off the falls every 4th of July. This fall also has a path so visitors can even go behind the falls, which is probably rather refreshing in the summer.
Dan, caught on camera.
Another shot of South Falls. . . needless to say, we spent a lot of time at this fall.
The Hedgecock family. We're glad they like to have us along on excursions! We have a great time together and seem to rarely experience a dull moment. Lots 'o good times!
This was too great a Kodak spot to pass by. Most of these waterfall shots were taken by Peter. Both cameras were short on battery juice and so, I actually pilfered them from the Hedgecock's blog. Thanks!
#2 Lower South Falls: This was by far everyone's favorite. What what even more amazing . . .
was the up-close, behind the falls.
Silver Falls is also a State Park; apparently there was a lot of logging in the area about 100 years ago which resulted in a number of stumps left behind = lots of fun photo opportunities :)
Did I mention moss grows everywhere here?
#3 Lower North Falls: This was one of the smaller falls with quite a few fallen logs in the surrounding area.
#4 Double Falls: This fall was the tallest at 178 feet.
#5 Drake Falls: Falls 3-5 were all within a 1/2 mile of each other.
It's a monkey, or Tarzan . . . no wait - it's Dan! Hangin' around havin' a good time.
#6 Middle North Falls
#7 Twin Falls: A great place for a lunch break.
This was an added bonus on our way to finding a spot to sit down and eat.
Carter having a good time during lunch.
#8 Winter Falls (definitely more original than the others. Not quite sure why the change in protocol here, but it's a good change!): This was our last planned fall to see, however on the way out of the park we saw one more. Before getting back in the car though we passed through some densely wooded areas where . . . .
Dan waxed philosophical on us all just before coming upon . . . .
. . . some gigantor trees.
They were literally, 'this-big'!!!
Here she is, #9 North Falls on out way out of the park.
This hike was amazing. Nine waterfalls, an hour drive to get there, gorgeous scenery and only $5. The best part about this too is that the hike can be any length you want it to be; a few hundred feet up to 9 miles long. Considering how beautiful it was in February when we went, this will probably be one we'll do again, and again, and again.
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