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| ABIQUA FALLS |
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| ABIQUA FALLS |
Abiqua Falls is a beautiful waterfall located within a large basalt amphitheater near Silver Falls State Park. The hike is less than a mile round-trip, but it is a bit steep at the beginning, and requires walking across some wet boulders. However, to me, the hardest part of hiking Abiqua Falls was trying to get my Toyota Corolla down the steep, rocky road to the trailhead. I made it, but I'm not sure if I would attempt it again. A high-clearance vehicle would definitely be preferable. I actually ended up parking at a pull-out on the side of the road about a quarter-mile or so above the main parking area to play it safe once I knew I was getting close. Be sure to bring detailed directions to the trailhead as the road and hike are not signed.
From the parking area, the trail will drop steeply down to the river. There were ropes here to assist with the steep, muddy descent. Once you reach the river, you will follow it upstream to the falls. The falls are amazing and there is a pretty large lake located at their base. I hiked this trail over President's Day weekend and saw about six or seven groups of hikers. You will want to avoid this trail during popular times as there are not a whole lot of parking spaces near the trailhead. Once they fill up, you will need to park further and further up the road from the trailhead. In addition to being steep and rocky, the road is also very narrow, and often has a steep drop-off along one side of it. Portions of it are barely wide enough for two cars, and I remember as I was leaving having to back my car down a steep section, to near the edge of a drop-off to make room for an SUV to squeeze past me.