Silver Falls State Park

The Silver Falls State Park is a 36 km ², the largest state park in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located 42 km east of Salem in Marion County.

Location

The state park is located at an altitude of 300 to 670 m at the foot of the Cascade Mountains. Through the park flows the North Fork and the South Fork of Silver Creek, the confluence of the two branches of the river is in the northwest of the park. The two arms of the river flowing through a canyon with a total of ten major waterfalls, respectively.

History

The park area was originally inhabited by Native Americans of the Kalapuyan who were displaced during the 19th century in the Grand Ronde Reservation. The Kalapuyans used the area as a hunting ground, but also for spiritual and cultural purposes.

In the 19th century the terrain by white settlers was largely cleared. Through the timber industry a small settlement called Silver Falls City, but it was abandoned at the beginning of the 1930s emerged again in 1888 at the South Falls. In the 1920 case were marketed commercially by its owner before the South. For the visit of an entrance fee was charged, and in spectacular actions old cars were toppled over the falls. A daredevil named Al Faussett should be fallen down even in a specially equipped canoe cases. The state park was established primarily at the instigation of the photographer June Drake from Silverton, in March 1931 acquired Drake the first 36 hectares of land to the South Falls and then transferred it to the State. On July 23, 1933, the park was officially established. 1935 rejected the U.S. government as the park Recreational Demonstration Area from, one of only two of these areas on the west coast of the United States. In subsequent years, the area has been expanded by acquisitions and donations of under-utilized due to deforestation and forest fires country. As late as 2006, the park area was extended by a further 147 ha to 3665 ha today.

By expulsion for Recreation Demonstration Area of the National Park Service took over the responsibility for the park, and the Civilian Conservation Corps was tasked to further expand the park area. The Civilian Conservation Corps established a camp in the park, and over 200 workers built according to the design specifications of the National Park Service, many of the still existing buildings, roads and other facilities and planted over one million trees. 1947, the park was handed back to the state of Oregon. Since 1986, the Friends of Silver Falls volunteer work for the preservation and expansion of the state parks. You operate the shop in the historic South Falls Lodge and explore the history of state parks. According to the Friends of Silver Falls nearly one million visitors a year visit the park.

The Silver Falls Lodge since 1983, the Silver Creek Youth Camp registered since 2002 in the National Register of Historic Places.

Flora and Fauna

By Afforestation in the thirties of the 20th century, the park is forested again today. The park lies in a temperate rain forest with some old stock still on Douglas firs, western hemlock and American giant trees of life. The park is home to numerous animal species such as black bear, cougar, beaver, gray fox, otter, mule deer, or elk.

Activities

The park has a large campground. Day tourists come especially to the South case where there are picnic areas and short walks to the South case. Here also lies the South Falls Lodge, which was built in 1940 by the Civilian Conservation Corps crafted with stones available in the park and woods. From 1946 until the end of the 1950s, it served as a restaurant. In 1978, she was restored and now serves as a visitor information center.

In summer you can swim in Silver Creek. The park has a total of 40 km of hiking trails, 22 km of bridle paths and a 6 km stretch of paved bike course. The most popular trail is the, also called Canyon Trail Trail of Ten Falls, a 14 km long National Recreation Trail, which runs along the Südarms and further to the north arm of Silver Creek with a total of ten waterfalls. Four of the cases are accessible, that is, you can walk behind the waterfall.

Trivia

The park served several times as a film set, for example, for the horror film before dawn and The Hunted.