Snoqualmie Falls

Washington is so lucky to have this site. It’s definitely breathtaking. The trails are closed until 2013; such a bummer! However, you can still get a good view from the deck.

Breathtakingly beautiful. Perfect for a family roadtrip. Maybe stay at the salish inn and spa next door if your making a weekend of it. Parking is kind of a nightmare BUT that’s just because everyone wants to see this gorgeous waterfall.
Would recommend

The falls are beautiful and the hiking around them is challenging, but not taxing. Summers here are always packed and there’s often kids running around. If you can, pick a sunny day in the winter and explore then, much less congestion.

About a 35 minute drive from Bellevue (where we stayed) so that wasn’t too bad. Lots of parking, has restrooms and a gift shop. Always been interested in the Salish Lodge but the prices were off putting especially with the exchange rate right now.
It was beautiful. There was a lot of water gushing down compared to my previous visit. There was even mist from the observation area!!!
We decided to do the trail hike down (half a mile). If you have knee/​ankle problems, I don’t recommend it. I was in pain going down but wanted to suck it up. Kept going and wish I hadn’t. NOTE: THERE IS A PARKING LOT DOWN THERE! So if you want to go on the boardwalk or have river access, just drive down there if you’re not in shape to do the small trail down. UGH, I wish I had known.
Other than that, it was totally worth the trek. It’s beautiful and not far out of the way, especially since we went to the Outlet after: D

Breathtaking views. Free parking. Easy to find. Easy to access. A short 35 minute drive from downtown Seattle. Most convenient and easy-​to-​get to waterfall viewpoint balconies. A MUST SEE when in the area.

On our way east from the Seattle area toward the Cascade Mountains, we found out that the Snoqualmie Pass was closed so we see decided to visit the falls to kill some time while we awaited the reopening. Less than 10 mintues off of the I-​90, we found the falls and parking pretty easily.
The flow was moderate to heavy with the increased snowfall resulting in a mist over the surrounding area. It was also raining at the time with temperatures in the mid 30s. We were in travel clothes and unprepared to check out the trail below, but we’ll do it next time for sure.
Definitely a site to behold where you can just take in the sights, sounds, and sensations. We finished by going to the gift shop to grab some hot chocolate and espresso to warm up. I’ve posted a video and pictures of what I captured on this particular late December day.

Obviously a requisite stop for any Twin Peaks fan. We didn’t go all the way down to the water, but the view was cool. Beautiful scene with the snowy mountains in the background. Pretty crowded with tourists.
The giftshop was cheesy and they sold Seattle’s Best coffee at the café. Who sells that stuff? But they did have a few cool books of area hikes and stuff, and pretty pictures of Washington.

Snoqualmie is a must if you’re on the road in the northwest. It’s just a short drive outside of Seattle so it’s very easy to get to.
The parking lot for the falls is just off the highway and doesn’t require any fees. There aren’t too many signs out there to let you know you’re approaching it so you may want to drive a bit slower rather than take a wild last-​second turn into the parking lot. I didn’t have a problem finding a parking spot in the late afternoon, though it may be a different story on weekends.
The parking lot leads down to a viewpoint above the waterfall, and that’s all it takes to get a view of the falls. There are some panels here with a history of the falls and how it was used for hydroelectric power back in the day, if you’re into nerdy engineering stuff like I am. A lot of mist gets up there so be prepared to wipe your glasses or camera lenses. There’s no hiking required, but if you’re up for it you can hike down to the base of the falls too.

No pass or permit required.
It does not require any hiking if you just want to see the falls from the upper viewpoint.
However, there is a 1.4 miles round-​trip if you want to hike down the bottom of the falls.
Starting from the back of Falls Gift Shop, there is a kiosk with maps. At the bottom of the hill, there is a boardwalk along the river.
You can climb some rocks and check out the river and waters crashing.
If you want to get to the river, and park nearby, the address is 37 479 SE Fish Hatchery Rd, Fall City, WA 98 024 (Thanks to Jenn W.) We came here first and it was breathtaking! We wanted to come back during night time and just hang out here, but of course, we did not end up going.
As you can tell, the falls was also featured on Twin Peaks! It was quite interesting reading that there were hydroelectric plants along the falls – operated by Puget Sound Energy. There’s a gift shop and you can buy snacks and drinks inside. Check out Snoqualmie Falls, it’s breathtaking!

A beautiful place you must see when in Washington!
Once you get to the location, it is about a 30 minute walk to go fm down to the waterfall. On good days when there is good weather and no flooding, you can go all the way down to the actual falls and swim if you’d like (warning-​the water is FREEZING)
It’s such a beautiful place and is usually busy with tourists and hikers.
You can also go up to the lodge to eat with amazing views from the top of the falls.

Last time I was here, the trail extended all t he way down where you could hang out on the rocks near the main pool of water just down from the falls. Now there is a boardwalk that separates man from nature which I guess is a good thing for long term sustainability. Lots of other changes and improvements since I was last here so it was almost like seeing it again for the first time. The hike from the parking areas to the falls is pretty easy although heading back up the hill requires a little more effort although it’s only about a half mile journey so not a big deal.
When I’m all done looking, hiking, walking, gazing, and taking photos, I always like to stop by the gift shop and check out the cool selection of locally made products they offer. Aside from souvenirs, shirts, and hats, they have all kinds of snacks, candies, and other various edible items to either enjoy just for fun or to refuel after the day’s adventure. Of course, the line at the coffee stand was non stop while I was there… because tourists want to feel authentic, I guess. haha
Most people are aware of this place and it really does live up to its reputation as a must stop on any visitor’s sight seeing schedule. The falls are just far enough away from the city to feel like you’re getting away from it all while still being close enough to not feel isolated and inaccessible. If you have some free time, all it takes is an afternoon and a sense of adventure to take full advantage of the state’s most majestic attractions.

An amazing example of science and geology. Restaurant at the top (we did not eat there yet). Picnic grounds at the bottom. Access to the river at the bottom. If you are in this part of the country, it’s a gotta see destination.
Nearby is the Snoquamie Falls Rail Road Museum (with rides on an antique train — we got there too late to do this.) And there’s a Snoquamin Centennial Log Pavilion — bascially a 100 year old petrified log sitting on a train that probably moved such pieces in the past. An interesting photo op if you are at the museum.
This weekend they were celebrating Rail Way Days, so there were booths of goodies and live music… would have been a nice place to spend a few hours, but once again we got there too late for much but a quick walk through.

This place is absolutely breathtaking.
However, I’m going to mention what I wished I had known prior to coming here. There is a short trail down to the falls and you can choose the boardwalk route (no river access) and the other with river access. The boardwalk route is a wooden platform walkway that gives you a nice view of the falls, and the other lets you go down to the river and swim… but you can’t see the waterfall from there… confused? Yeah, a lot of people were when I came.
There is no trail for you to hike down to the waterfall, so you have to cut corners. My boyfriend, a local girl, and I ended up climbing over rocks and walking through the river (where the water was most stagnant) to get to the other side. I’m 5’3″ and the water came slightly above my knee so definitely expect on getting wet! Being unprepared, I didn’t have my swimsuit, so definitely bring one if you don’t want to get your hiking clothes wet. The rocks are covered in algae, making them pretty slippery so wear water shoes or in my case, Nike flyknits (L o l) with some decent traction. Many others jumped down from boardwalk platform to get to the falls as well, but it’s a little steep, so I wouldn’t recommend it.
The waterfall itself is beautiful. I could have probably sat there all day taking it in. It just sucks that there is no direct route to get down to it; I know a lot of people were disappointed… but if you’re up for the challenge, hike to it. I was hesitant at first, but it was beyond worth it!