Must-See Washington Waterfalls

I don’t know if Washington is well-known for its waterfalls, but it should be! With all the rain we get, waterfalls are always running, and there are some that require very little hiking to get to! I’ve listed these in order of least walking to most walking and linked them to their Washington Trails Association profiles for more information.

1. Upper Sunbeam Falls – an unmarked gem
Mount Rainier National Park, WA // Difficulty: Easy // Length: 0.1 miles // Elevation Gain: none // Pass: America the Beautiful Pass
This is not a hike, it’s just a viewpoint along Stevens Canyon Road near Reflection Lakes.  It’s a marked place on Google Maps, so you should be able to easily find it; however, there are no signs for it along the road, so keep an eye out! You can park along the side of the road and just hop out to take some photos!

2. Gorge Creek Falls – a lovely introduction to the North Cascades National Park
Rockport, WA // Difficulty: Easy // Length: 0.1 miles roundtrip // Elevation Gain: none // Pass: None
You can park at the rest stop off of the North Cascades Highway and cross the street to the Gorge Overlook.  There is a pedestrian bridge and you can see the water drop from the mountains to below your feet.  This is a nice stop on the way to Diablo Lake.

3. Palouse Falls – a waterfall worth traveling for
LaCrosse, WA // Difficulty: Easy // Length: 1 mile roundtrip // Elevation Gain: 50 ft // Pass: Discover Pass
This waterfall is located in Eastern WA, north of Walla Walla.  Palouse Falls is majestic looks like something you’d see in Ireland. It’s located in Palouse Falls State Park, hence the Discover Pass. You exit off the main road and go down a long gravel road for a couple of miles and won’t be able to see the falls until you’re in the parking lot.  You don’t need to hike to see the waterfall. You can follow the gravel path to the viewpoints, or you can hike above the falls. If you’re really daring, you can hike down closer to the falls, but there’s no official trail and it can be muddy. You can definitely do a day trip from Seattle, but I did an overnight road trip. If you plan on visiting, read about everything you need to know before you go in my other blog post.

4. Whatcom Falls – a big waterfall in a pretty public park
Bellingham, WA // Difficulty: Easy // Length: 2 miles roundtrip // Elevation Gain: 50 ft // Pass: None
The main waterfall is only a minute walk down from the parking lot, but there are also two smaller waterfalls if you cross the bridge and exploring the trails! This is a popular park and you won’t be alone on the trail.  This is a family-friendly nature walk and the paths are well-maintained.

2nd waterfall

3rd waterfall

5. Snoqualmie Falls – the iconic Washington waterfall
Snoqualmie, WA // Difficulty: Easy // Length: 1.4 miles roundtrip // Elevation Gain: 250 ft // Pass: None
There’s a fee to park in the main parking lot, but just drive across the street to park in the bigger, free lot.  Then walk across the overpass to get back across the street.  This will take you to the main falls viewing area, no hiking required! You can get photos from above the falls, and then follow the short trail to get to the base of the waterfall. You’ll start with the downhill and then will have to hike back up.  You can go on the rocks and get to the water, but most people stick to the trail and boardwalk to see the falls from below.

6. Myrtle Falls– pretty as a picture
Mount Rainier National Park, WA // Difficulty: Easy // Length: 1 mile roundtrip // Elevation Gain: 100ft // Pass: America the Beautiful Pass
Follow signs for the Skyline Trail and Myrtle Falls from the Paradise parking lot.  This is a popular path and is completely paved, although it is a steady incline that could be difficult for elderly people. There’s a little path down to a viewing area below the falls.  If you choose to walk across the bridge above the falls, try not to linger there for too long since photographers will be trying to take photos from below.

7. Narada Falls – you can’t see this waterfall unless you walk down to it
Mount Rainier National Park, WA // Difficulty: Easy // Length: 0.2 miles roundtrip // Elevation Gain: 100ft // Pass: America the Beautiful Pass
This is a popular stop on the way to the Longmire and Paradise areas of Mount Rainier National Park.  There’s a big parking lot turn out, you can’t miss it.  Cross the bridge and follow the trail down to the falls where there’s a viewing area. It’s not too too steep, but stay cautious, as it could be slippery when wet.

8. Panther Creek Falls – a tropical-looking waterfall in the PNW
Carson, WA // Difficulty: Easy // Length: 1.3 miles roundtrip // Elevation Gain: 220ft // Pass: None
This waterfall is a tricky one to find. You’ll drive down a forest road for several miles and then you’ll come to a little turnout to park in.  The trail isn’t very well-marked, but you’ll cross the street and see a small wooden sign for the waterfalls.  The whole hike is downhill on the way down and so that means it’s uphill all the way back.  There’s a first lookout about 5 minutes down the trail, and then you’ll walk down some more to get to the viewpoint at the base of the falls. Photos don’t do this waterfall justice. It looks like something you’d see in a tropical rainforest, not Washington. This waterfall is located in the Southern part of the state, near the Oregon border in the Columbia River Gorge. There are plenty of waterfalls on the Oregon side as well! Read about my 4-day road trip here.

9. Franklin Falls – walk right up to a waterfall
North Bend, WA // Difficulty: Easy // Length: 2.5 miles roundtrip // Elevation Gain: 400 ft // Pass: Northwest Forest Pass
This hike will literally lead you right up to a 70-foot waterfall, no viewing platform or anything, you can get into the water if you want in the summer.  The hike is shaded and very well-maintained, although it can get muddy if there’s a lot of rain.  It’s a slow incline and then once you can see the waterfall between the trees, it’s a swift descent and you’ll have to walk on bare rock to get down.  It can be especially dangerous if it’s slippery, so take your time.  You can only walk single file, so if people are trying to climb back up after seeing the falls, wait your turn to walk down and vice versa.

10. Twin Falls – see two waterfalls for the effort of one
North Bend, WA // Difficulty: Moderate // Length: 2.6 miles roundtrip // Elevation Gain: 500 ft // Pass: Discover Pass
This is a relatively easy hike! I feel like it’s longer than 2.6 miles, but maybe we were just slow and it was kind of wet.  It’s a very low incline for most of it, except getting up to the point where you get your first view of the falls from far away.  Then you follow the easy path to the falls.  There are two waterfalls, hence the “twin” part of its name.  You could easily miss the lower falls, as it’s a staircase off the main trail your right before you get to the upper falls main viewing area.  Definitely check out both!

11. Cherry Creek Falls – a lovely walk in the woods
Duvall, WA // Difficulty: Moderate // Length: 5 miles roundtrip // Elevation Gain: 450 ft // Pass: None
There isn’t a parking lot, you just park along the sides of the road, so go early in the morning to grab a spot. We got to the trailhead (which is just off the main road) around 8:15am and there were only a few other cars. By 11am, we were on the way back from the waterfall and we saw plenty of families and other hikers. I rated this as moderate just because of the length. It is a pretty flat trail and the first part is a wide gravel road.  About 15 minutes from the waterfall, you’ll see a crashed car, who knows how it got there? You can walk right up to the falls. It isn’t super tall, but still a rewarding sight! Overall, I think this might be my favorite hike because it was a well-maintained trail and wasn’t too hard.

12. Bridal Veil Falls – a waterfall against a rock wall
Gold Bar, WA // Difficulty: Hard // Length: 4 miles roundtrip // Elevation Gain: 1,000 ft // Pass: Northwest Forest Pass
I rated this as difficult because of the loose rocks toward the top.  The trailhead serves as the beginning of the trails for Bridal Veil Falls and Lake Serene and both of these hikes are quite popular, so get to the trailhead early to get a parking spot.  The first half of the hike to Bridal Veil Falls is pretty easy, you do have to cross some streams which aren’t a problem in the summer, but could be with more rain.  About a mile in, you’ll get to a few tall staircases, and beyond that, there is a rock field and some large roots, so you need to be careful not to trip or twist an ankle.  At the top, you’ll find some boardwalk stairs and can walk right up to the falls and touch the water if you want.

13. Wallace Falls– 3 unique viewpoints of the waterfall
Gold Bar, WA // Difficulty: Hard // Length: 6 miles roundtrip // Elevation Gain: 1,300 ft // Pass: Discover Pass
I rated this as hard just because of the length.  Elevation-wise, it’s pretty on par with Bridle Veil Falls or Twin Falls.  This is a pretty steady incline the whole way, you can definitely feel that you’re climbing up a mountain.  There are three waterfall overlooks, and the first and second are the wow-factor ones (left and center photos above).  The third waterfall is nice, but if you’re tired and want to turn back after the second waterfall, you’re truly not missing out.  Despite the WTA hike description, it’s really not much steeper than the rest of the hike, but it does add about another mile to your trip.

RECOMMENDED:
10 Easy Picturesque Hikes Near Seattle
6 Gorgeous Photo Stops at Mount Rainier National Park
Day Trip to Mount St. Helens

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