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Falls Creek Falls
On a hot and sunny day I drove north of Carson, Washington to a large parking area.
From there it was an easy hike to an amazing 200-foot, three-tiered waterfall on Falls Creek.
Because of the many grand waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge, Falls Creek Falls gets little respect. It would likely be a signature state park in most places in the country.
Several miles later and I was at the viewpoint overlooking the upper falls. Feeling ambitious, I hiked the trail for another three miles before turning back. The scenery was varied and the wildflowers were exquisite.
Beautiful orchids and a jaw-dropping waterfall – – – does life get any better?

Falls Creek Falls

Calypso Orchid that has seen its better days

Oregon Anemone

Harsh Paintbrush

Turnaround point

Beargrass beginning to bloom (wild lily)

Fairy Bell (wild Lily)

Dogwood

Vanilla Leaf

Lower and Middle tiers of Falls Creek Falls
Gorgeous! There are some beautiful falls and trails here as well. I’ll need to make a blog about it eventually. Love your stuff!
Thanks for the kind words. There are many spectacular waterfalls with 100 miles of Portland.
Go life! Spring is the best season for both bears and humans.
Yes indeed!
Wow! Definitely worth the hike!
Thanks Sandy. It’s a good one.
Love these. I can’t believe I missed this one. Falls are among my most favorite of nature’s gifts – they are beautiful and they are powerful.
We have some amazing waterfalls near Portland.
I would love to see a few the next time we visit.
I am going crazy over all of the gorgeous PNW spring wildflower images I’m seeing on the blogs that I follow. Having visited only in the late summer and fall, I hadn’t even thought about how incredible the wildflowers must be. What a treat!
Falls Creek is in a classic transition zone between east and west of the Cascade Mountains. I’m always surprised by the variety of wildflowers I spot in the area during the springtime.
Great photos! I hope to make it up to Washington to see what it has to offer. I love waterfalls and those ones are so beautiful!
Thanks for the kind words. We’re lucky to have many large waterfalls nearby.
Thanks so much, John, for these fantastic photos. Went on this spectacular trail today, with your suggestion, and really enjoyed it. When we got to the falls we were speechless, for the falls are astounding. Your photos here, from May, show what we suspected it looked like in a high water season. We were impressed, in late August, with the abundance of water the falls still had; but of course it wasn’t as full as in May. Today we saw lots of Vanilla leaf, but of course without the flower, so that was fun. Great wildflower photos here. And you’re right about these falls probably not getting enough acknowledgement in the land of so many falls, but we sure enjoyed it. Warmest thanks for the suggestion.
Thanks Jet. Glad you’re enjoying our neck of the woods.