Upper North Falls

Silver Falls State Park straddles Highway 214 east of Salem and can be reached from either the north or south. From Salem, exit Interstate 5 onto Highway 213 eastbound and proceed 10 miles to Silverton. In Silverton turn right (south) onto Highway 214, following signs pointing to Silver Falls State Park, and drive another 14 miles to the North Falls parking lot and trailhead. Alternatively, from I-5 in Salem drive east on Highway 22 to its junction with Highway 214, then follow Highway 214 for just under 18 miles to the North Falls parking area. From the parking lot, cross the footbridge and bear right at the junction where signs point to Upper North Falls, which are encountered about one-third of a mile upstream from the bridge.Upper North Falls is the first of six waterfalls along North Silver Creek within Silver Falls State Park, and the only waterfall on either branch of Silver Creek on the upstream side of Highway 214. The falls drop 65 feet in a broad curtain-style plunging fall, with a large pool below and several logs suspended from their root balls hanging over the cliff adjacent to (or in) the falls itself. Like all of the waterfalls in Silver Falls State Park, Upper North Falls is formed where the creek has eroded away a portion of the basalt bedrock and created a broad shelf. The uniformity of the streambed above the falls allows the creek to stretch to on average 30 feet in width, but at higher flows it can easily expand to nearly as wide as the falls are tall.The waterfalls of Silver Falls State Park were discovered and named by local photographer June Drake in the late 1880's. Upper North Falls was so named because it is the uppermost waterfall along North Silver Creek.