With over 20 miles of horse-friendly trails, Silver Falls State Park is a fabulous place to ride. The park, Oregon's largest, is located 20 miles east of Salem.
Silver Falls attracts equestrians from all over the Northwest, and it’s easy to see why. The trails are wide and in excellent condition, the riding is relatively easy, and the forest is beautiful. You can create several nice loop routes by linking the park trails in different ways. Plus, the park has excellent camping facilities at Howard Creek Horse Camp and a huge day-parking area.
The Riding
Here are some examples of the Silver Falls’ excellent horse trails:
The Buck Mountain Loop runs 8.5 miles past enormous old-growth trees to the top of its namesake hill, for a gradual elevation gain of 850 feet in a little over 4 miles. Much of the route runs along old forest roads, so the trail is nice and wide. On the eastern leg of the loop, you’ll find massive stumps from a long-ago logging operation interspersed among the live trees. Today these stumps act as “nurse logs,” providing nutrients for the younger trees growing out of the rotting wood.
The Howard Creek/Buck Mountain Loop is 5 miles long, and like the Buck Mountain Loop, it features huge old-growth Douglas-firs and hemlocks, plus massive maples and dense undergrowth. The trail runs along Howard Creek and the Smith Creek riparian area.
The Rackett Ridge/Perimeter Loop gains 1,000 feet of elevation in 2 miles as it explores Rackett Ridge and the eastern boundary of the park. This beautiful 10-mile loop crosses several creeks, and like the park’s other trails, it is densely forested.
The 214/Smith Creek Loop is a very nice 7-mile ride that crosses Howard Creek and Smith Creek before swinging around to connect with the Buck Mountain Loop. Some sections of the forest along the trail have been clear-cut in the past, creating variation in the vegetation you’ll see along the way.
While at the park, be sure to visit some of the spectacular waterfalls along the Trail of Ten Falls, which passes – you guessed it – ten waterfalls, allowing you to walk behind several of them. Horses are not permitted on the waterfall trail so you’ll have to hike it. But the exertion is worth it!
The Camping
The park's Howard Creek Horse Camp has five campsites with steel corrals for four horses each. One site is a pull-through, and all others are back-in. All are level and graveled, with room for 2 vehicles. All sites have fire pits, picnic tables, and water spigots with potable water. In addition, there is a group site with corrals for 12 horses and parking for multiple vehicles. The camp has portable toilets and manure bins.
Reservations are required for Howard Creek Horse Camp, because summer weekends get booked up early. Get your reservations early!
More Information
The trails at Silver Falls State Park are covered in more detail in Riding Northwest Oregon Horse Trails, by Kim McCarrel, available at www.nwhorsetrails.com.
