Big Creek Falls

Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington, USA

About Big Creek Falls


Hiking Distance: 0.6 miles round trip
Suggested Time: 30 minutes

Date first visited: 2009-08-22
Date last visited: 2009-08-22

Waterfall Latitude: 46.09473
Waterfall Longitude: -121.91325

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Big Creek Falls is a tall plunging waterfall, but while waterfalls like this one seem to be a dime a dozen in much of the Pacific Northwest, this had the feeling of more of an average waterfall.

That said, I’d bet that a waterfall like this would’ve gotten top billing if it was in say Southern California where such waterfalls are more rare.

Big_Creek_Falls_016_08222009 - Big Creek Falls in Washington State
Big Creek Falls in Washington State

Big Creek Falls possessed a thin singular plunge of water dropping 125ft, which we were able to view from a wooden deck providing the only full views that we could safely get.

The steep gorge only allowed us to look down at the waterfall with some trees and foliage growing into the line of sight.

During our visit, at least the tree obstructions weren’t so bad to the point of not being able to see a good chunk of the falls.

Anyways, there were other trails leading to other parts of the forest, but we didn’t bother doing them so we can’t really comment further on where they go.

Big_Creek_Falls_012_08222009 - Context of Julie checking out Big Creek Falls from the sanctioned overlook
Context of Julie checking out Big Creek Falls from the sanctioned overlook

All I know is that I don’t think there was a way to the base of the Big Creek Falls so there was really nothing more to our visit to keep us here any longer.

Overall, the walk to the falls itself was an easy 0.3 miles each way (or 0.6mi round trip).

Authorities

Big Creek Falls resides in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Carson in Skamania County, Washington. It is administered by the USDA Forest Service. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Big_Creek_Falls_001_08222009 - Julie on the short trail to the viewpoint of the Big Creek Falls
Big_Creek_Falls_002_08222009 - Poem sign next to the lookout platform for Big Creek Falls
Big_Creek_Falls_009_08222009 - More contextual look at Big Creek Falls
Big_Creek_Falls_006_08222009 - Zoomed in look at the entirety of the Big Creek Falls


The car park for the trailhead of Big Creek Falls is roughly 10 minutes further east from the Curly Creek Falls turnoff along Route 90 (Lewis River Road) in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

It’s about 9 miles east of the Eagle Cliff Bridge and the car park is well signposted.

For geographical context, this waterfall was 84 miles (about 2 hours drive) northeast of Portland or just 45 miles (under 90 minutes drive) north of Cascade Locks.

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Slow deliberate sweep from bottom to top of the falls from the lookout platform

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Tagged with: gifford pinchot, national forest, skamania, cascade locks, wind river, washington, waterfall, mt st helens



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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