Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Here in western Oregon we typically have two seasons: a season of sun and a season of rain. Between late fall and late spring (recent fluctuations in the weather pattern notwithstanding) your odds of encountering a gray and rainy day are pretty good.

That can be frustrating for the outdoors enthusiasts of Oregon, who may feel the need to hole up rather than go hiking in the rain. But to reject the rain is to reject what makes Oregon so beautiful in the first place.

You can’t have the green without the gray, and in that spirit it’s always nice to zip up your rain gear and hit the trail during the wet season, when you can explore Oregon’s lush rain forests and waterfalls in their true element.

A good rainy day hike should offer some protection from the elements, which usually means a forested trail. It should also offer some kind of natural attraction to reward your effort, whether it’s a towering waterfall, cliffside view, huge tree or a rushing river.

Back in 2016, I put together a similar list of wet weather hikes. Consider this the updated version, created with a few more years of experience under my belt.



Here are the 12 best rainy day hikes around Oregon:

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

SILVER FALLS STATE PARK

Home of nearly a dozen beautiful waterfalls, several looping trails connecting them all, Silver Falls State Park near Silverton is the gem of Oregon's state park system. It's also a perfect place to hike on a rainy day, with some protection from trees and waterfalls which will likely be going strong. For the best tour, hike the Trail of Ten Falls.



Parking is $5 per vehicle, free with an annual Oregon state parks pass.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

OXBOW REGIONAL PARK

One of my go-to rainy day hikes close to Portland, Oxbow Regional Park is a moss-covered wonderland in the wet season, with trails that wind through dense forests and along the banks of the beautiful Sandy River. Oxbow is the kind of place where you can pick a trailhead and find your own adventure, but for a more complete excursion try the Oxbow Loop hike. You can also hike the wilder side of the park across the river.



Parking is $5 per vehicle, free with an annual Metro parks pass.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

ECOLA STATE PARK

A forested headland with amazing cliffside views over the Pacific Ocean, Ecola State Park is easily one of the best foul-weather hikes on the coast. You can head down to Crescent Beach or Indian Beach if you like, but the best way to explore is on the Clatsop Loop hike, which runs from Indian Beach to a hikers' camp, and includes a look at the stunning Tillamook Rock Light. You can also hike the wilder side of Ecola by starting at the Tillamook Head trailhead near Seaside.



Parking is $5 per vehicle, free with an annual Oregon state parks pass.

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

DRIFT CREEK FALLS

A hidden gem in the Coast Range near Lincoln City, Drift Creek Falls is a lovely little hike in the rain. An easy 1.5-mile trail leads through a coastal forest to a beautiful suspension bridge over Drift Creek, where hikers can look down on the 66-foot waterfall pouring off the cliffs. Continue along the trail for more views of the falls.



Parking is $5 per vehicle, free with an annual Northwest Forest Pass.

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Molly J Smith/The Oregonian

OPAL CREEK

With old-growth forest, a beautiful turquoise pool and a historic timber company town, Opal Creek near Salem is one of the best hiking areas in northwest Oregon, and it just so happens to be nice on a rainy day. It's a 3.5-mile hike from the Opal Creek Trailhead out to Jawbone Flats and the beautiful Opal Pool, with the trail continuing on to Flume Creek Falls and Cedar Flats.



Parking is $5 per vehicle, free with an annual Northwest Forest Pass.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

WAHCLELLA FALLS

This past August, the Wahclella Falls Trail in the Columbia River Gorge reopened to the public, after being closed for nearly two years in the wake of the Eagle Creek fire. While there are some changes to the scenery, the 2.4-mile round-trip hike remains as beautiful as ever, capped off by a look at the gorgeous 127-foot, two-tier waterfall.



Parking is $5 per vehicle, free with an annual Northwest Forest Pass.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

MULTNOMAH-WAHKEENA LOOP

Multnomah Falls is one of Oregon's greatest year-round attractions, and the Multnomah-Wahkeena loop hike behind the towering Columbia Gorge waterfall is a great rainy day adventure as well. The trail suffered some damage from the Eagle Creek fire in 2017, but this past summer it reopened to the public, once again offering access to the five-mile loop hike along the Larch Mountain and Wahkeena trails past the many waterfalls neighboring Oregon's tallest.

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Stephanie Yao Long/The Oregonian

HOYT ARBORETUM

Hoyt Arboretum is home to more than 2,300 species of trees and 12 miles of trails in southwest Portland. That allows a lot of flexibility with hiking. A five-mile loop hike from the visitor center is a great way to see the arboretum, following the famed Wildwood Trail past stands of towering redwoods, under canopies of pines and through groves of black oaks.



Parking is $2 per hour or $8 per day at metered lots inside Washington Park.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

TRYON CREEK

One of the only state park sites in Portland, Tryon Creek is a popular park in the southwest corner of the city, known for its quiet, winding trails and many wooden footbridges over trickling creeks. Almost entirely under the canopy of trees, the trails of Tryon Creek are perfect any time of year – and are especially majestic in the snow.

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Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

BAGBY HOT SPRINGS

What better way to end a rainy day hike than with a soak in a natural hot spring? Bagby Hot Springs features several public soaking pools near Salem (though one recently closed), with water sourced from a nearby spring. There are other hot springs in Oregon that are accessed by trail, but Bagby is a legitimate hike, with a trail that runs nearly two miles from the parking to the springs. Just keep an eye on the weather in winter – the trail may be inaccessible if there's too much snow.



Parking is free, soaking is $5 per person at the hot springs.

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

WILSON RIVER TRAIL

Offering one of the longest hikes in the Coast Range, the Wilson River Trail runs more than 20 miles one way in the lush Tillamook State Forest. Of course, you don't have to hike the whole thing to enjoy it. One of the best places to pop in is at the Footbridge trailhead off Oregon Route 6, where you can head east along the Wilson River to reach Wilson Falls. Between March and November, you can also access the Wilson River Trail at the Tillamook Forest Center. You can find maps of the northern and southern segments of the full trail online.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

GOLDEN AND SILVER FALLS

Buried in the coastal forest of southwest Oregon, Golden and Silver Falls is a particularly beautiful, though rarely visited state park site. It takes a long and winding drive from nearby Coos Bay to get there, but it's worth the effort, as Golden Falls and Silver Falls are both stunning. A three-mile hike will take you through the whole park to the base both waterfalls, as well as to a particularly nice viewpoint at the top of Golden Falls.

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--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB