Number of Miles Driven: 147

Day trip to Silver Falls State Park and Great Notion

States Driven through: OR (1)


The main place Jeremy wanted to take us was Silver Falls State Park - it’s a park with 10 waterfalls, but to see them all it’s a 9-mile circular hike; so we focused on the ones easiest to get to for the kids. It was a beautiful day (low 70s) and we got there by 9:30, but the parking lot was already full and we had to wait to get a spot. 


We had a short hike to the first waterfall and it was beautiful. It was a significant descent with lots of steps in a short distance, but it was very manageable and well worth the short-walk. We got to walk behind the waterfalls which was cool, and the kids liked the “cave-like” rocks behind the falls. 















We then drove to the other side of the park to see two more waterfalls and that parking lot was also quite full. Jeremy said it was the busiest he’s ever seen it. The next waterfall was also impressive because it was tall, but Jeremy told us that Oregon has been in drought conditions for the past 12-18 months so the amount of water coming off the waterfall was significantly less (he also said that explains why Oregon isn't as green right now - that it's more yellow/brown). You could see the path where it normally has a much wider stream over the ledge but it was completely dried up. I thought the falls were majestic as they were but apparently they are even more impressive when fully flowing. The last waterfall we saw was a great example of the decreased water flow - usually it’s so much water that you can’t see the people behind the falls but, as you can see from the photos below, you can easily see through the falls. My dad even has a picture from a couple of years ago at the exact location where we took a family picture on this trip, and, sure enough, there is so much more water. 







He climbed every rock formation he could

 You normally can't see all those people behind the falls when it's fully flowing - major difference! 





About 15 feet up





Along the hike, the kids enjoyed finding the “hidden” paths to the creek that the falls were feeding into and just playing in the water. They weren’t swimming but they like walking across the rocks that were in the creek bed and walking across fallen trees that crossed the creek. 


Jayden and Andrew






Because we walked to the bottom of two waterfalls, we had two consecutive descents but over a longer hike (~1 mile). However, the loop back to the top apparently tried to regain that elevation in a much shorter period of time. We were hiking up steep switchbacks to get back to where we started. Dani enjoyed most of the trek back up on Michael’s shoulders and Carolyn was definitely jealous of that. Andrew and Matthew were troopers and lead the way back to the top - they kept a good pace and we were all out of breath by the time we finally made it to level ground. I think the hike was a total of 3 miles but the last .5 mile was all steep incline, so we were all exhausted when we finished and looking forward to our next stop - Great Notion Brewery.


For the last couple of years my dad has been telling me about this “Blueberry Muffin” beer that tastes just like a blueberry muffin and we were finally getting to try it. Great Notion is in downtown Portland so we also got to see the city. Driving into Portland there was a lot of traffic (although Jeremy later told us that wasn’t “a lot” of traffic) with some standstills on the Interstate. But we got there and sat down at a table right away. 


I got a flight of sours and fruited beers - Paradisio, Strawberry Shortcake, Big Papaya, Blueberry Muffin, and Pink Lemonade. I liked them all very much but my favorites were Big Papaya and Paradisio and my least favorite was Pink Lemonade. I really liked Blueberry Muffin but it’s one I wouldn’t want more than one of; however, it definitely tasted like a Blueberry Muffin - they even recreated the crumbly/powdery/bread-like taste of a muffin. Strawberry Shortcake had a similar taste profile but with a strawberry flavor vs. blueberry. Michael got a flight with a couple of hazy IPAs (what they’re known for) and stouts - Sounds After Dark, Dynamite, Over Ripe, Return to Space, and Time Machine. His favorite was Dynamite, a stout. 



A flight of sours! Yummm...

Michael's flight

We had a late lunch there and bought some cans for ourselves as well as some friends. It was a great brewery and Michael picked up a beer glass to commemorate our visit. 


We spent the rest of the evening hanging out on the back porch while the kids got in the hot tub. They loved that! Jeremy wasn’t convinced that I liked legit sours and thought I might just like fruited beers, so he picked up a blueberry sour from Cascade Brewing (a local brewery known for their sours) to see if I could handle it. I really liked it and proved my penchant for sours. He was right..it made my mouth pucker a little but it was good. 


Overall, a great day exploring Oregon and getting to do/see things that we’ve been hearing about for the past two years! 


Next Up: Mt. St. Helens in Washington!