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Lower Dalles Creek Falls
Pierce County, Washington, United States
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CATALOGEDThis waterfall has been surveyed, mapped and measured in person by the World Waterfall Database.
Lower Dalles Creek Falls is the first waterfall encountered along Palisades Trail #1198. The falls veil down the mossy wall of the Dalles Creek Gorge, dropping a total of about 280 feet. Unfortunately, because of significant foreshortening from the base of the falls, as well as several large trees lining the sides of the falls, only about 175 feet of the falls can be clearly seen from the bottom. As the trail continues to climb up the gorge, you'll have through-the-trees views of additional portions of the falls, but none which are photo-worthy. Because Dalles Creek has a small drainage, the falls run low in the summer. Though the creek technically rarely dries out, the flow drops enough for this to be considered a seasonal waterfall. I visited this waterfall during the record heatwave in May 2008 which induced all the small streams in the area to go absolutely berserk, and I found this waterfall to be absolutely impossible to photograph while it was flooding as it was then. HISTORY AND NAMES
- Also Known as: Dalles Falls
- Lower Dalles Creek Falls is the Official name of this waterfall
The name of the falls, obviously derived from the stream, is recognized by the Forest Service, as seen on the trail signs. A Waterfall Lovers Guide to the Pacific Northwest cites this simply as Dalles Falls.
Location and directions
Located north of Mt. Rainier National Park, along the Mather Memorial Parkway (Highway 410). From the town of Greenwater, proceed south towards Mt. Rainier, for about 9.8 miles, to a wide turnout on the left side of the road, just after crossing Dalles Creek, and about 1/3 of a mile south of the Skookum Falls viewpoint. Palisades Trail # 1198 starts here, and climbs 1/5 of a mile to a junction with the White River Trail. Stay straight, following the signs for the falls, and in another mile, the falls are encountered, at the end of a short spur trail.
| Lower Dalles Creek Falls is shown in the center. Additional nearby waterfalls (if any) can be found in the list below. |
Additional Nearby Waterfalls
| Name of Waterfall | Distance |
| Upper Dalles Creek Falls | 0.15 mi / 0.23 km |
| Skookum Falls | 0.69 mi / 1.1 km |
| Snoquera Falls | 0.86 mi / 1.38 km |
| Doe Falls | 3.12 mi / 4.99 km |
| Goat Falls | 4.53 mi / 7.24 km |
| Unnamed Waterfall | 4.71 mi / 7.54 km |
| Unnamed Waterfall | 4.74 mi / 7.59 km |
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Photography tips
This one is a great study for slow shutter photography. While not quite on par with Proxy Falls in Oregon, the small volume of the stream interacting with the mossy cliff provides some great macro possibilities. The stream is small enough that spray shouldn't be an issue (it wasn't for me), but watch out for the sun. High contrast can be really harsh here, so, as usual, try to come on an overcast day.
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User comments
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