Our August visit was actually our second try at seeing this waterfall. On the first go-around, we were turned back by the onset of a snow storm as well as a gate not far from the trailhead that prevented our rental car from proceeding further on Hwy 242. I guess it was a good thing that gate was closed because it turned out that the snow came down really hard just a few minutes later. Based on our experience, we're living proof that this waterfall is not accessible year-round despite what you might read elsewhere. Anyways, five months later, we finally got to see the falls.

The walk to the falls (on Trail 3532) is actually a loop hike of about two miles. It seems the Forest Service wants you to hike the loop in a counterclockwise direction because only the trail from the trailhead to the right was signposted. The other one (on the far left beyond the furthest east parking pullout spaces) was not signposted, and we were only aware of it after finishing off the loop.

The trail starts off by leaving the forest cover of tall pine trees giving way to what looks like an old lava field before returning to a lightly dense forest cover. After close to a mile from the trailhead, you reach a confusing sign pointing in two directions corresponding to a fork in the trail. It turns out that the right fork leads to a lookout of the Proxy Falls itself. But the left fork continues the loop and actually leads to a smaller cascade called Upper Falls (incidentally Proxy Falls is sometimes called Lower Falls) ultimately returning to the trailhead.

At the viewpoint of the main falls, an informal trail of use and scramble continues towards the base of the falls, but that trail had been closed for a while as evidenced by fallen trees and lots of overgrowth near the base making access anything but a cakewalk. Whether you want to take on the scramble or not, we'll leave it up to you. But it seems the forest service has put subtle hints to discourage you from getting closer (like logs positioned perpedicularly to the faint trails) to the falls.

Continuing the loop hike, just a few minutes walk from that confusing signposted fork leads to yet another signposted fork. The sign here suggests you turn left and head back to the trailhead or turn back behind you to continue the loop trail. However, the right fork leads to that lesser-known cascade known as Upper Falls (note, no sign even hints at what's on this fork in the trail). This cascade is harder to photograph because it requires getting your feet a little wet to get a more direct view and it has lots of foliage keeping you from getting a clean view.