Sulphide Creek Falls | World Waterfall Database

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This waterfall has been surveyed, mapped and measured in person by the World Waterfall Database.

Sulphide Creek creates one of the tallest waterfalls in North America as it plunges and cascades out of practically unreachable Sulphide Lake, situated on the southeast corner of Mount Shuksan within North Cascades National Park. The creek empties from the lake into an exceptionally narrow gorge, fluming down several hundred feet before reaching a more abrupt cliff and beginning a more vertical descent, plunging over several individual but closely spaced tiers of several hundred feet each, ending almost 2200 vertical feet below the lake's outlet. This not only makes it a continentally significant waterfall for its height, but because the volume of meltwater from the Sulphide and Crystal Glaciers - the two largest on Mount Shuksan - flowing over the falls can swell to as much as an estimated 500 cubic feet per second during the hottest days of the summer, the falls are further significant for its height coupled with great volume.

Because the geology of the bedrock surrounding the falls has allowed the creek to incise heavily into the mountainside, the falls are heavily obscured from view from most angles and can only be seen from a nearly straight-on angle. Extremely thick avalanche brush and snow-stunted forest growth surround the basin at the bottom of the falls and make accessing the bottom of the falls exceptionally difficult and for all intents, impractical.

HISTORY AND NAMES

Sulphide Creek Falls is the Unofficial name of this waterfall

Our thoughts

When we were first made aware of Sulphide Creek Falls in the late 1990s, we had an idea how tall the falls might be, but until eyes were laid on the creek itself, we couldn't quite grasp the true magnitude of this colossus. Were the falls easily visible and not heavily cut into the side of the mountain, there is little doubt it would be an attraction of global significance. As it is, because very little of the falls can be easily seen, the falls simply aren't appreciated for what they are - one of the best in North America.

Location and directions

Though the falls are located not far from trails and roads, because of the rough terrain and thick forest, accessing the falls is simply impractical for most. The Baker River trail ends 2 miles away from the falls near the confluence of Sulphide Creek and the Baker River, but traveling upstream to the falls is all but futile thanks to the thick brush in the basin. A rough route exists branching off from the Shuksan Lake trail which leads to ridge-top views opposite of the falls, but thanks to floods in 2006 the roads leading to the trailhead were decomissioned, extending a strenuous 3 mile hike to over 9 miles (one way). Bottom line is we do not recommend attempting to view this waterfall unless you have extensive experience in multi-day, cross country travel in similar terrain.

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Sulphide Creek Falls is shown in the center. The 10 closest waterfalls within a 8km radius are shown as well (if any). Click any icon or see the list below for more information.

Additional Nearby Waterfalls

Name of Waterfall	Distance
Sulphide Valley Falls	0.34 mi / 0.54 km
Jagged Ridge Falls	0.68 mi / 1.09 km
Rockflow Canyon Falls	1.09 mi / 1.74 km
Sulphide Basin Falls	1.1 mi / 1.77 km
Cloudcap Falls	1.37 mi / 2.19 km
Lake Creek Falls	1.54 mi / 2.47 km
Seahpo Peak Falls	1.64 mi / 2.63 km
Unnamed Waterfall	2.13 mi / 3.42 km
Unnamed Waterfall	2.59 mi / 4.15 km
Nooksack Cirque Falls	2.71 mi / 4.33 km

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Photography tips

Sulphide Creek Falls has thus far proven to be a very difficult waterfall to see, let alone photograph. Its suspected that the best views are from the ridge immediately north of Shuksan Lake, looking north into the falls. A moderate telephoto is recommended for shooting this angle. Should access to the bottom of the falls prove viable, a wide angle lens is thought to be necessary. Best light on the falls is mid day due to the narrow canyon it occurs within causing significant shadowing.

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Sulphide Creek Falls Whatcom County, Washington, United States