Winter 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 15 miles to the Winter Falls 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 17 miles to Winter Falls. The Winter Creek trail descends gradually to the bottom of Winter Falls in about 1/5 of a mile.Officially, the 4th tallest waterfall in Silver Falls State Park, Winter Falls is both impressive and disappointing. The falls drop 134 feet, plunging straight down before striking a steeply slanted protrusion of basalt which causes the stream to veiling the remaining distance to the floor of the canyon. As the name of the falls implies, Winter Creek only flows during the winter months. Of the ten major waterfalls along the Canyon Trail in Silver Falls State Park, Winter Falls is the lowest volume and will be most impacted by a lack of precipitation of the bunch - so if Winter Creek is flowing visibly at the parking at the top of the falls, all of the other falls in the park should be flowing much better. However during the summer Winter Creek will all but run dry and the falls will revert to just a dribble of water spattering over the cliff (if at all). During extremely dry summers, such as in 2012, it may very well dry out entirely. If you catch the falls with a substantial flow, they are rather eye catching and more than worthy of a few minutes of your time.The waterfalls of Silver Falls State Park were discovered and named by local photographer June Drake in the late 1880's. Both Winter Falls and Winter Creek were named because of their seasonal behavior, flowing best during the winter months and running nearly dry (or totally dry during extended dry spells) in the summer.