North Falls is a 136-foot plunge waterfall on North Silver Creek in Silver Falls State Park, Marion County, Oregon. A short stairway trail from the North Falls parking area leads into the huge undercut alcove behind the falls, one of the stops on the park's Trail of Ten Falls.
The falls
North Silver Creek shoots through a narrow crack in the basalt and drops in a single free plunge of 136 feet. Behind the falls, the undercut cliff reaches back at least 100 feet, with a ceiling 20 to perhaps 75 feet above the trail. Flow averages about 100 cubic feet per second for eight months of the year, and about 15 for the other four.
Getting there
The North Falls trailhead is on Highway 214. From the parking lot, the route crosses a footbridge, bears left onto the Canyon Trail past a cliff-top viewpoint, then descends roughly 80 stone stairs to the alcove, about a fifth of a mile from the lot. A separate North Rim overlook trail, opened in 2023, runs half a mile from the North Canyon Day-use Area on a 6-foot-wide compacted surface with grades under 5 percent, with accessible parking and restrooms.
Parking in Silver Falls State Park costs $10 per vehicle for Oregon residents and $12 for nonresidents; Oregon state park passes and camping receipts are accepted, federal passes are not. The South Falls and North Canyon day-use gates are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in September, with shorter hours from October through winter.
When to go
North Falls runs all year. Flow is strongest in winter and spring, when a second plume can form beside the main one.
On site
The trail passes behind the curtain of water inside the alcove, where the overhang amplifies the roar. The park closes the water within 300 feet above and below North Falls, so there is no wading or swimming at the pool. Pets are not allowed on the Canyon Trail, and the stairs make the behind-the-falls route unsuitable for wheelchairs; the North Rim overlook is the accessible option.
History and name
Local photographer June Drake named the park's falls in the late 1880s; this one became North Falls as the main waterfall on North Silver Creek.
Nearby
Upper North Falls is about 0.4 mile upstream, Twin Falls 0.7 mile downstream, Winter Falls 0.9 mile on Winter Creek and Double Falls 1.2 miles on Hullt Creek.
Distances are straight-line.