Henline Falls

Henline Falls

Distance: 2 miles out-and-back

Maximum Elevation: 1780

Minimum Elevation: 1600

Total Elevation Gain: 200

Directions: From Salem, take Highway 22 and drive 23 miles to Mehama. Turn left on Little North Fork Santiam. Head about 16 miles on it, then head left on Road 2209. In less than a quarter mile, the parking area for the trailhead will be on the left.

My roomate and the waterfall

This short hike gives a small, but very satisfying, taste of Opal Creek Wilderness: a 120-foot waterfall, a pristine creek, and an old mining operation.

The cave entrance

The wide, gentle trail (actually an old mining road) passes a half mile though a thick forest to a steep fork on the right. Ignore it – it goes nowhere. Continue straight on the main trail for about another half mile. Close to the destination, you’ll begin to hear the rush of the creek and waterfall. Next, you’ll see the creek, at first quite far below you in a ravine. Then, the first glimpse of the falls.

The trail squeezes around a big chunk of concrete – the remnants of Silver King Mine’s power building. A short distance further, an easy scrabble-route climbs up to a dark, damp opening in the cliff face – Silver King’s mining shaft. You can explore the first 25 feet of the shaft – the rest is blocked off by an iron grate. If it wasn’t there, you could continue on .25 miles into the mountain’s basement.

The waterfall itself is impressive. A 120-foot sheet of water crashes into a crystal-clear pool, opalescent rocks glinting below the surface.

This hike makes a great warm-up for a longer adventure along Opal Creek.

Looking out from the mining shaft