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Washington
5-Day
Waterfalls Excursion
DAY THREE
Day Three Itinerary
Snoqualmie Falls - North Bend
- 9:30a
265+ ft - heavy flow - 50-150 ft wide plunge
-
In the middle of Enumclaw, turn right on Porter Street (this is WA-169) and follow WA-169 northbound to Maple
Valley.
-
Turn right on WA-18 and follow it to I-90 exit 25.
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Follow westbound I-90 toward Seattle to Exit 22
(Preston).
-
Exit, head north to Fall City and turn right on WA-202.
-
About 2 miles east of Fall City, turn right on
'Fish Hatchery Road' and drive to the gravel parking area at the end of the road
(about 2 mi).
They say
Snoqualmie Falls was made famous because of its appearance in the TV show Twin
Peaks. The fact is, Snoqualmie Falls has been famous to 'Europeans' for well
over a century and to Native Americans as far back as their stories can tell.
Just one look you'll know why. Even though much of the water is now diverted to
create electricity for the Seattle area, this thundering plunge off these
ancient cliffs makes even a special trip to see this hydrospectacular
worthwhile.
Photo from Official
Snoqualmie Falls Web Site:
Snoqualmie
Falls
Photo by Ben de Lisle:
Snoqualmie
Falls
Photo by Eugen Winklharrer:
Snoqualmie
Falls
Twin Falls - Olallie State Park
- 11:30a
45 ft - heavy flow - 50 ft wide cascade
-
Return to
WA-202 and turn right.
-
Head east to exit 31 of I-90, merge with I-90 eastbound and drive to exit 38.
-
Turn right onto Edgewick Road and go to the Olallie State Park entrance (about
0.5 mi on your left).
The parking area and trail head is at the end of the park
road. While you can view parts of some of the falls from parking area, a well
marked trail (with some uphills) leads to the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River.
About 0.7 in you will have some excellent views of the waterfalls. The 80 ft
bridge allows you to view both Twin Falls and Weeks Falls.
Photo of Twin Falls in
Spring by Amy Brockhaus:
Twin
Falls
Photo of Twin Falls in
Summer by Amy Brockhaus:
Twin
Falls
Photos of Twin Falls by Kim Godwin:
Twin
Falls
Photos of Twin Falls by
Eugen Winklharrer:
Twin
Falls
Weeks
Falls - Olallie State Park - 11:40a
150+ ft - heavy flow - 50 ft wide cascade and fan
(see Twin
Falls, above)
Family Pancake House Restaurant
- Snoqualmie Pass - 12:10p
Return to I-90 and head EAST to exit 53 (Snoqualmie Pass).
Cave Ridge
Falls is out Alpental Road according to Bryan Swan but there are a lot of little
roads here so we felt it was a good time to stop, eat lunch, and get better
directions. And we did. While you are asking for directions, ask them how to get
on the road to Franklin Falls and Denny Creek.
Cave Ridge Falls - Snoqualmie Pass
- 1:00p
350+ ft - very light flow - 15-20 ft wide steps
Drive up
Alpental Road to the Alpental Ski Area parking lot. You can see Cave Ridge Falls
from the parking lot as the water goes bumpity-bump down a series of steps. Even
with the snow melt at full prime there was not a lot of water. After June
we would suggest you skip this 'waterfall'.
If you are in
a hiking mood, there are several other waterfalls reachable by the trail at the
parking lot. We passed up the opportunity.
Denny Camp Falls -
Denny Creek - 1:35p
30+ ft - medium to heavy flow - 5 ft plunge
-
Return to FR-58 (this is
like a frontage road which parallels I-90 and the South Fork Snoqualmie River to Denny Creek).
-
Turn right onto Denny Creek Road (#58) and follow it about 2.5 miles to the
marked trailhead. The waterfall is immediately downstream from the road.
You can tell
from all the noise that Denny Camp Falls is much bigger than it looks. The
crevice through which it pours constricts the width. Bryan Swan recommends
getting out of the car and walking the easy trail for a closer look.
Franklin
Falls - Snoqualmie Pass - 1:55p
75+ ft - medium to heavy flow - 15 ft plunge
Continue on
FR-58, going past the campground, and turn left onto the paved road. Parking is on the left
while the trailhead is on the right.
Actually,
there are two trails to Franklin Falls though we were told that both are 'spurs'
to the main trail heavily used by hikers in the area. We took the first trail
that was very easy going and got us to Franklin Falls in about a quarter mile.
You may have
noticed that we are actually between the eastbound and westbound right-of-ways
of I-90. Surprisingly, down here you hear no traffic noises - not even the
18-wheelers. This is a beautiful, secluded spot. You should really enjoy your
visit.
Fall into the Wall
Falls - Denny
Creek - 2:15p
23+ ft - medium to heavy flow - 15 ft wide twist and plunge
While not much
of a waterfall - at least after you have visited a few of the other waterfalls
in the area, you have to drive right by it on the way to the eastbound I-90
on-ramp. Go back to Denny Creek Road, turn left and, when you see the stone
wall, park and peer over the wall. You just might enjoy Bryan Swan's description
of this waterfall - we did!
Silver Falls - Entiat
- 4:50p
140+ ft - heavy flow - 50 ft wide plunge ('curtain')
-
Continue on
Denny
Creek Road to the community of Denny Creek where you will see the sign pointing the direction to the on-ramp of I-90
EASTBOUND.
-
Follow I-90 EAST, just past Cle Elum, to exit 85.
-
Exit I-90, turn left and drive, crossing the tracks, to the
'T' intersection and turn right. This will be WA-970.
-
Follow WA-970 to Virden and US-97.
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Turn left on US-97 and follow it north to US-2.
-
Turn right and continue on US-97 to
the split (to the left) of US-97-Alt just before you cross the Columbia River
bridge into Wenatchee. (This is the community of Sunnyslope.)
-
Turn left on US-97-A,
which runs up the west bank of the Columbia River, and drive to Entiat.
-
To view
Silver Falls, you need to make a left onto Entiat River Road (about 17 miles
from where you left US-97 in Sunnyslope) and follow this forest road 30+ miles
to some campground (look for Silver Falls sign). This is a 60+ mile round trip -
plus a hefty climb once you get there. Yes, though we were warned by Bryan
Swan's description, those 385 stone steps are exhausting. And you have to be
very careful coming down those steps because, I am sure, tripping could be very
easy and hazardous. There are many other, more convenient, waterfalls in Washington.
But Silver Falls is absolutely beautiful, just as promised.
Photo by Eugen Winklharrer:
Silver
Falls
(scroll to bottom of
window for this photo)
Entiat Falls - Entiat
20+ ft - heavy flow - 120 ft wide plunge
We skipped
this one because it is another mile beyond the Silver Falls trailhead and
doesn't seem to have that much to offer. (Description makes it seem like
Tumwater Falls.)
Photo by Eugen Winklharrer:
Entiat Falls
(scroll to bottom of
window for this photo)
Best Western Lakeside Lodge
- Chelan - 6:00p
2312 W Woodin Ave
End of DAY THREE
Make your reservations as early as possible because
the inns in Chelan are frequently full (especially on weekends!). We carefully
chose the Lakeside Lodge; the other 'inns' are more expensive and usually have space but we
feel this is the best available in Chelan.
For more
information and reservations, go to:
Best Western Lakeside Lodge
Afterthoughts:
This was quite
a day. The high point, of course, was Snoqualmie Falls near Fall City. That is
one memory that lasts a lifetime. My husband and I visited Snoqualmie on our
'honeymoon' so it was quite an experience to be able to view it once more. Of
the other waterfalls we visited, today, only Twin Falls and Weeks Falls were
impressive, - the others were variations on a theme. The drive through this
mountain scenery is very easy and enjoyable. Even the traffic on I-90 wasn't
bothersome.
Washington
5-Day
Waterfalls Excursion
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