Lake Creek Falls

RATING - 34.0

VR - 4.0 (M/S) HR - 6.0 SR - 10/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Bushwhack

DIFFICULTY - Medium

LOCATION - Baker River Trail

TYPE - Horsetail

HEIGHT - 166'

WIDTH - 5'

GPS - N48.76947 W121.55233

ELEVATION - 1200'

DIRECTIONS - Drive to the end of Baker Lake Road and start hiking the Baker River Trail. In about a mile and a half, the trail will cross Lake Creek (first major creek). The falls are about 1/3 of a mile upstream from here and can be found by following the creek upstream. It's not super difficult, but the brush can be frustrating at times.

Lake Creek exits a narrow canyon via this gorgeous 166' tall waterfall. The falls begin with a little 25' sliding drop that is difficult to see. Below here it slides another 20' and then drops over the main portion, a 121' horsetail into a pretty pool of water. The area around the falls was buried by a large rockslide sometime in the recent past. This avalanche probably shortened the height of the falls by a good 20'. It will be interesting to see how the waterfall changes as the area recovers. In the meantime, the pile of avalanche debris makes for a fun final climb to the falls and a nice viewing platform, complete with flowers. I suspect that early in the year the falls are much more impressive, launching water away from the cliff and kicking up a lot of spray.

This makes a good beginner's off-trail hike. There is some bush along the way, but it's not at all dangerous, and it's pretty tricky to get lost.