Bear Creek Falls
Bear Creek Falls is a waterfall in Washington, at a modelled elevation of 414 m. Kyes Peak stands 2,220 m to the north-northeast, 5.5 miles off. The nearest named place is Troublesome Mountain, a peak 1.4 miles away. Stevens Pass Greenway passes 8.7 miles off.
The falls consist of several small punchbowls and plunges where the river constricts through a narrow granite gorge, culminating in three drops totaling 25 feet in height that empty into a huge pool, producing an enormous boiling churn of bubbles.
The story
Bear Creek Falls is the final of the two waterfalls on the North Fork Skykomish River in the U.S. state of Washington. The falls are located within a short, narrow canyon. The falls, at just 25 feet high, are quite insignificant, however are quite significant in terms of how much water is flowing over them. They drop about 8 meters in a series of cascades and punchbowls. Because the gorge is rather twisted, it is hard to see portions of the falls, let alone photograph them.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q37250, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Height
- 2 m
- Width
- 3 m
What to expect
How to reach it
- 8.7 mi off the Stevens Pass Greenway, National
- 8.7 mi off the Cascade Loop, National
Overlooks nearby
- Canyon Falls Viewpoint · 9 mi
- Bridal Veil Falls Viewpoint · 10 mi
- Valley Overlook · 11 mi
- Lunch Rock · 12 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Troublesome Mountain: 1.4 mi
- Bear Mountain: 1.8 mi
- Spire Mountain: 2.1 mi
- Scott Peak: 2.3 mi
- Hubbart Peak: 2.8 mi
- Blanca Lake Falls: 3.1 mi
- Deer Falls: 4.4 mi
- Pride Basin Falls: 6.6 mi
- Pride Glacier Falls: 6.7 mi
- Weeping Wall Falls: 8.6 mi
- Heybrook Ridge Park: 9.6 mi
- Baring Community Park: 9.7 mi
- Skykomish City Ball Park: 12.5 mi
- Great Northern & Cascade Railway Park: 12.8 mi
- Reiter Foothills Park: 12.9 mi
- Bus: 3.6 mi
- Ore Concentrator: 6.4 mi
- Lodge: 6.5 mi
- Old Skykomish Hotel: 12.7 mi
- Mackinaw Shelter: 13.0 mi
- Moai: 9.3 mi
- Peanuts Gallery: 9.4 mi
- Index Town Wall: 9.4 mi
- Lower Town Wall: 10.4 mi
- Grassy Point: 24.0 mi
- Heybrook Lookout Picnic Area: 8.7 mi
- Bear Creek Site: 11.6 mi
- Nighthawk Site: 11.8 mi
- Hemple Creek Day Use Area: 21.2 mi
- Group Picnic Shelter: 24.5 mi
- Monte Cristo: 6.5 mi
- Alpine: 14.3 mi
- Wellington: 15.7 mi
- Scenic: 16.3 mi
- Garland Mineral Springs: 1.9 mi
- Scenic Hot Springs: 17.0 mi
- Gamma Hot Springs: 23.3 mi
- Monte Cristo: 6.5 mi
- Caboose: 16.2 mi
- Cut Log: 23.0 mi
- Henry M. Jackson Hydroelectric Project: 12.1 mi
- Deception Falls Picnic Area: 14.9 mi
- South Fork Tolt Reservoir Watershed: 17.9 mi
- Skykomish Historical Society: 12.7 mi
- Great Northern and Cascade Railways: 12.7 mi
- Normandy Beach: 15.4 mi
- Iron Goat Rest Area: 16.2 mi
- Sultan Materials: 18.5 mi
- Soda Spring: 19.3 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 9.2 miles of Bear Creek Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyes Peak | NNE 24° | 2,220 m | 5.5 mi |
| Cadet Peak | NNE 13° | 2,191 m | 6.6 mi |
| North Cadet Peak | NNE 13° | 2,182 m | 6.9 mi |
| Columbia Peak | NNE 12° | 2,175 m | 4.9 mi |
| Monte Cristo Peak | NNE 19° | 2,140 m | 5.8 mi |
| Wilmans Peaks | N 8° | 2,098 m | 5.6 mi |
| Foggy Peak | N 6° | 2,076 m | 7.3 mi |
| South Gemini Peak | N 358° | 2,072 m | 7.8 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:09 | 18:38 | 19:18 |
| June solstice | 05:07 | 20:20 | 21:09 |
| September equinox | 06:53 | 18:24 | 19:05 |
| December solstice | 07:53 | 15:22 | 16:16 |
Local time (America/Los_Angeles).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 37 | 39 | 43 | 48 | 55 | 59 | 64 | 65 | 60 | 50 | 42 | 36 |
| Precip in | 16.7 | 10.6 | 11.9 | 8.4 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 4.8 | 12.3 | 18.1 | 14.6 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Baring, 10 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOfficial siteOpenStreetMap element node/850166095
Day trips start here
- Stevens Pass · 17 mi
- North Cascades · 23 mi
- Monroe · 27 mi
Take the scenic way to Bear Creek Falls.
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