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Bear Creek Falls

Bear Creek Falls, seen from above at true elevation

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. JCT WOODS CREEK RD NEAR MONROE TO JCT US 97 NEAR PESHASTIN 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

Official site

How to reach it

Coordinates47.89230, -121.38267

Named places within 25 miles

Waterfalls
Parks: 20
  • 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
Historic sites: 10
  • Bus: 3.6 mi
  • Ore Concentrator: 6.4 mi
  • Lodge: 6.5 mi
  • Old Skykomish Hotel: 12.7 mi
  • Mackinaw Shelter: 13.0 mi
Cliffs: 10
  • Moai: 9.3 mi
  • Peanuts Gallery: 9.4 mi
  • Index Town Wall: 9.4 mi
  • Index Town Wall: 9.5 mi
  • Index Town Wall: 9.8 mi
Picnic sites: 5
  • 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
Ghost towns: 4
Hot springs: 3
Attractions: 3
Museums: 3
  • Skykomish Historical Society: 12.7 mi
  • Great Northern and Cascade Railways: 12.7 mi
  • Skykomish Historical Society: 12.8 mi
Beaches: 1
  • Normandy Beach: 15.4 mi
Rest areas: 1
Gardens: 1
  • Sultan Materials: 18.5 mi
Springs: 1

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.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Kyes PeakNNE 24°2,220 m5.5 mi
Cadet PeakNNE 13°2,191 m6.6 mi
North Cadet PeakNNE 13°2,182 m6.9 mi
Columbia PeakNNE 12°2,175 m4.9 mi
Monte Cristo PeakNNE 19°2,140 m5.8 mi
Wilmans PeaksN 8°2,098 m5.6 mi
Foggy PeakN 6°2,076 m7.3 mi
South Gemini PeakN 358°2,072 m7.8 mi

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox07:0918:3819:18
June solstice05:0720:2021:09
September equinox06:5318:2419:05
December solstice07:5315:2216:16

Local time (America/Los_Angeles).

Climate normals

Months averaging 5080 °F: May–Sep.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F373943485559646560504236
Precip in16.710.611.98.45.04.01.71.94.812.318.114.6

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Baring, 10 mi away.

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikidataOfficial site

OpenStreetMap element node/850166095

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