Golden and Silver Falls State Park

Here's a quick stretch of the legs, Golden and Silver Falls State Park near Coos Bay, Oregon.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_and_Silver_Falls_State_Natural_Area

While the park is off the beaten path it is relatively easy to find an the falls are gorgeous.    As you can see, the hikes are short.  Silver falls, the left hand trail is short, leading to a viewing area surrounded by dense forest of Douglas Firs, Maple and other hardwood species.  This trail is the old  Allegany to Scottsburg pack trail in use when roads were scarce in these parts.

Silver Falls is approximately 100 feet high, falling over yellow rock to the stream bed below.  Some huge boulders are at the bottom, evidence there have been some falling rocks in the past. This is about a 20 minute hike.  When you've got the pictures, return to the parking area for the next leg of the journey.

 The right hand fork from the parking area immediately crosses a narrow footbridge and follows the other fork of the creek around the mountainside.  Soon, you begin hearing the roar of the falls and just a short distance further, you'll see the falls through some of the tree branches.  Golden Falls is approximately the same height as Silver Falls, and it appears that similar amounts of water fall to yet another boulder strewn landscape.  We got our feet wet just a bit on this fork from some standing water on the trail.  But we were there in the rainy season and it rained and snowed while we hiked.  contrary to popular belief, there is a drier season along the Oregon Coast.  It just rains less during the summer months even though the coastline is shrouded in fog.

The Trail continues on until at last you break out on top the bluff about 60 minutes into your hike.  This is a great spot for photos from a slightly different perspective.
As I mentioned earlier, these are relatively easy hikes, and not too long, but the challenge is in finding the park in the first place.  From Coos Bay, take the Coos River Road East from town and follow it all the way to the tiny community of Allegany.  Don't blink at this point for two reasons.  First is you might miss this community which boasts more four-legged inhabitants than two, and the second is that there is a sharp turn in town and you could end up skewered or a tree.  Continue on through Allegany, fighting the urge to turn off the main road.  within a few miles, you come to the parking area which dead ends the road.  It's all walking from here. Golden and Silver Falls is a short diversion from your trip up or down the coast and can be a cool refuge on a warm day.  Either way, it's well worth the time and the short distance to find this treasure of the Oregon Coast.

Shore Acres State Park, Charleston Oregon

Shore Acres State Park is located near Charleston Oregon, close to Coos Bay, the largest city on the Oregon Coat.  The park was once the home of timber baron Louis Simpson, of what is now Simpson Timber Company of Shelton, Washington.
Simpson found the estate and bought it from a local landowner and built an elegant mansion on the property.  soon after building, the mansion burned to the ground and the Simpsons merely moved perhaps 200 feet into the guest house that survives.
Some of the most dramatic waves on the Oregon Coast break over the reef (Simpson's Reef) and soak unwary visitors.  A small gazebo is built on a promintory and there, in the spring, you'll find local whale watchers scouring the open seas for signs of Gray Whales migrating north.
Near the park are several observation platforms where visitors can observe Sea Lions and several other species.  The waters near the reef make for superb feeding grounds and are a good place to raise young.
The Park is located 13 miles southwest of Coos Bay on the Cape Arago Highway.  Shore Acres is open all year long during daylight hours.

Smith Rock State Park, Central Oregon

As you descend from the parking area at Smith Rock you encounter this sign, providing directions to the many hiking trails inside the park.  You can see there are many options and degrees of difficulty.  At this spot, you are near the River Trail, where Rooster Cogburn and Miss Eula waited in ambush for the notorious gang that killed the Army troops and stole Nitro and the Gatlin Gun. That trail, the Canyon Trail (1.6 mi) runs along the side of the river nearest the parking lot, the River Trail (2.5 mi) runs along the opposite side and is accessed from the footbridge once you get to river level.

Monkey Face, one of the more recognizable landmarks within the park, can be accessed from either the river Trail, or from Misery Ridge Trail.  Some of the more daring climbers attempt this climb, and it must surely be important to them to be able to boast about standing on top of this rock spire.

For those of us less addicted to thrills, its enough to ascend misery ridge, a series of switchbacks, to the top of the rocks and gaze at the splendor of both the rock formations and the relatively flat surroundings of the park. 

One of the outstanding features is called Asterisk Pass, for the balancing rock that looks like an asterisk.  Well, it does to them, but to me it looks like the profile of famous cartoon character, Snoopy.

Altogether, there are approximatley 10 miles of hiking trails in the park, more than enough for a day.  Best to plan at least a couple of days in the area, and remember to take water, because there is none to be found along the trails.  During summer months, take the sunscreen because the light here can be intense.

Access to Smith rocks is at the Small town of Terrebonne, found between Redmond on the south and Madris on the north, on Hwy 97 in Central Oregon.  The experience will not leave you unchanged

Look to rmkunlimited.com  for help in finding equipment for hiking, fishing, hunting and outdoor photography.

For more views of things wild, go to My Kind of Wild