Fall At The Falls Washington’s Lewis River Among The Greatest For Watching Cascading Waters

For outdoor lovers who casually worship waterfalls, southwest Washington’s Lewis River is probably a strong candidate for Mecca.

No fewer than 10 dramatic waterfalls are located between the Swift Reservoir and Tillicum Creek, a driving distance of only 16 miles along the Lewis River.

Born among the snowfields of Mount Adams, the river meanders along the southwest side of Mount St. Helens Volcanic Monument before it empties into the Swift Reservoir.

Most travelers access the area by turning off Interstate 5 at Woodland, Wash., and traveling east. The two-lane paved highway follows a route above picturesque Lake Merwin, Yale Lake and the Swift Reservoir Together the three dams bottle up the waters of the Lewis before it continues west, finally emptying into the Columbia.

The most dramatic waterfalls are located on the Lewis River Road No. 90, a right turn off Highway 503 just past the Pine Creek Information Station and the Eagle Cliff Bridge. The falls are inside the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, and access to each is indicated by a road sign.

Curly Creek Falls

The first cataract of note is that of Curly Creek, located five miles east of the Eagle Cliff Bridge. The falls drop 75 feet in two tiers. Part of the plunging cataract is viewed through a natural rock arch, and a second arch is being formed by the process of erosion. A new parking area provides access to a viewpoint from across the river via a short, level trail.

Rush Creek Falls

Perfect for the intrepid bushwhacker, 125-foot-high Rush Creek Falls are reached only after careful negotiation of a precipitous trail across prickly Devil’s Club ground cover. Access to the trail is via Road No. 51, which winds south from the Lewis River Road about a mile beyond the Curly Creek Falls turnoff.

Big Creek Falls

About four miles east of Curly Creek, the falls of Big Creek drop 125 feet into a deep pool. Two overlooks are reached by a short, winding trail through giant evergreens, and there are several interpretive signs along the way.

Lower Lewis Falls

Spectacular enough to have fostered their own park, these falls are the featured attraction of the Lower Lewis Falls Recreation Area and Campground, 14 miles east of the Eagle Cliff Bridge. Multiple cataracts crash 35 feet over a wide, rounded cliff face, as if trying to imitate Niagara on a smaller scale. A short trail from the day-use parking area leads to a large overlook and continues downriver.

Middle Lewis Falls

Another mile eastward lies a small parking area for the Middle Lewis Falls, accessible by a .6-mile trail upstream This block-type waterfall is slightly less spectacular than Lower Lewis just down the river, but as a bonus the hiker can view nearby Copper Creek Falls from the same trail.

Upper Lewis Falls

Definitely rivaling the Lower Lewis cataract is Upper Lewis Falls, which thunders over a 35-foot escarpment not far upstream. The trail is less clearly marked than others - one has to watch carefully for a small sign on the right-hand side of the road one mile beyond Middle Lewis Falls parking area.

The short trail down to the falls is moderately steep, but one is rewarded by a walk across a footbridge crossing a sidestream, and a dramatic view of multiple cataracts pouring over the cliff.

Perhaps the sign at the overlook above Big Creek Falls best sums up the mystique surrounding falling water, wherever it occurs, in whatever form.

A quotation from David Cavagnaro reads: “What wondrous stories a water molecule could tell; of wild peaks visited on stormy nights, of quiet rivulets and raging waters traveled, of the swirling protoplasmic energy of living cells, a zillion places visited since the earth’s beginning.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: If you go To access the Lewis River, turn off Interstate 5 onto Highway 503 at Woodland, about 25 miles north of the Washington-Oregon border, and travel east. Just past the Pine Creek Information Station turn right onto Road No. 90 which parallels the Lewis River and continues toward Mount Adams. After viewing Upper Lewis Falls, those in a traveling mood can backtrack to the junction just before the Pine Creek Information Station, and turn up Road No. 25 North. This paved route skirts the east side of Mount St. Helens and provides access to Windy Ridge Viewpoint, as well as one more notable cataract: lovely Iron Creek Falls just beyond the viewpoint turnoff. In addition to the falls listed above, there are several more located along the Lewis River Road. All are described by Gregory Plumb’s “Waterfall Lover’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest” (Mountaineers Books, $12.95), which details more than 500 waterfalls in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.