The poet said, “We shall not cease from exploration, for at the end of all our exploring we will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

All well and good, but where does one go for a good meal and beverages after hiking Silver Falls State Park, the largest state park in Oregon? Simple. Head over to the 68-year-old South Falls Lodge, because by discovering the lodge itself and the Café at the Falls within, an new exploration has been made.

The Café at the Falls is carved from the same old-growth timbers as the rest of the structure, which is itself accented by two fireplaces and a floor created from native stone. The Café is fitted cheek-by-jowl to the adjacent Nature Center and a large, welcoming interior space scattered with myrtlewood chairs and tables.

Employees work behind a corner counter with separated areas marked “Order Here” and “Pick Up Here,” though everyone who orders seems to want to pick up their food at the wrong place.

Silver Falls State Park is located about 45 minutes east of Salem in the Silverton Hills, a stepping-stone to the Cascade Range. To kick start the formation of the nearly 9,000-acre state park, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 designated the area as one of his largest Recreational Demonstration Projects, part of Depression-era plans to create 46 public parks in 24 states.

The South Falls Lodge, originally designed as a restaurant, was built by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the spring of 1941. Its original name was the Concession Building, and it was used as such through the late 1950s. The 65-foot-by-112-foot structure in 1983 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Silver Falls State Park Concession Building Area.

The park offers walking/hiking explorations ranging from short hikes to much longer treks. A simple start can be from the Lodge area, behind the falls and down to the pool below the 177-foot South Falls. Then there is a complete expedition called the Trail of Ten Falls, via which you visit each of the park’s major waterfalls.

As for relief after all that work? Ice cream treats, deli sandwiches, Philly cheese steak, soups, salads, cold drinks, espresso and coffee drinks, and hamburgers as good as any this side of Burgerville await at the Café at the Falls.

At the wood-toned service window, decorated with Depression-era photos of loggers, builders and craftsmen at work, Sara Vanderwall and other employees of the Café take their turn writing orders and making change, cooking the meals — and directing those in a hurry to pick up their food at the correct window.

The one marked, “Pick Up Here.”