We had a great time at Silver Falls State Park campground with our family. The newly revamped campground is absolutely beautiful and was such a fun place to take our family. During the time we hiked the 1 mi loop around the campground and it was beautifully maintained and a nice hike. The 1 mi loop hike would be fine for taking kids on. Next to the trail was a very slow moving stream that was at least a mile away from any of the waterfalls. Our kids had fun playing in that stream. One thing we did find was a large ant hill on the 1 mi loop. It wasn’t technically on the trail, but you would want to watch your kids and make sure they don’t jump on the big tall pile of dirt and get a surprise!
The grounds were very well maintained with lots of grass and a nice playground for smaller kids. The play equipment really wasn’t very exciting for big kids, but it was perfect for Littles. Some of the RV spots are much more private than others. We purposely chose to be nearer to the restrooms but next time we might choose the area that’s up against the nature trail instead from our privacy. Some of the campsite slips are a really deep and long.
The restrooms are awesome. There are several family restrooms that have a shower and toilet and sink together. Then there are also shower stalls only and restroom stalls on the opposite side. It looks to me like everything is very nicely ADA compliant and there’s even a large chafing area that is motorized to pull down to accommodate changing an adult that has mobility issues or special needs. On the backside of the restrooms were 2 fish cleaning stations and a water fountain.
We did hikes to two of the smaller waterfalls, In addition to the main large falls. A few of the trails on the state Park map are marked that you can take dogs on them. When we got to the trail heads, however, there were signs saying no dogs, but there were people taking dogs on those trails. I definitely would be cautious about taking dogs on some of the trails because there are some areas where Trail is more narrow and there’s pretty big drop offs. If you have two people passing with dogs that definitely can get a little concerning. You can park in any of the hiking area parking lots with the parking pass you get for camping. On a holiday weekend it can be really busy like when we came. Even with the campground filled up the areas around the campground did not feel crowded. The hiking areas did however get pretty crowded and it was tough to find parking in a couple different areas we went to.
