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Green Lake Falls

Green Lake Falls, seen from above at true elevation

Green Lake Falls is a waterfall in Washington, at a modelled elevation of 1,196 m. Mount Shuksan stands 2,784 m to the north-northwest, 11 miles off. The nearest named place is Upper Green Lake Falls, a waterfall 0.2 miles away. JCT KEYSTONE FERRY ZONE WHIDBEY ISLAND TO JCT SR 153 VIC TWISP passes 8.1 miles off.

The story

Green Lake Falls is a large, very difficult to access waterfall located a short distance below the outlet of remote Green Lake, in North Cascades National Park, Whatcom County, Washington. It is 979 feet (298 m) high & averages 150 feet (46 m) wide and flows year-round. It has several tiers, including a 300-foot (91 m) slide and a 500-foot (152 m) plunge. There is another 175-foot (53 m) drop about a fifth of a mile upstream, and if this was included the total height would be close to 1,260 feet (380 m). Above that is Green Lake itself, which is fed by several large, glacial streams originating from the Green Lake Glacier. The largest one contains unofficially named Bacon Lake Falls.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wikidata Q37438, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.

What the record says

Height
299 m
Width
46 m

How to reach it

Coordinates48.69271, -121.49284

Named places within 25 miles

Peaks
Waterfalls: 15
Parks: 13
  • Pressentin County Park: 11.9 mi
  • Riverside Park: 13.9 mi
  • Lake Shannon Recreation Area: 14.3 mi
  • Vogler Lake Public Access: 15.3 mi
  • Howard Miller Steelhead Park: 15.4 mi
Cliffs: 6
Picnic sites: 3
Ghost towns: 3
Attractions: 2
  • Shadow of the Sentinels: 10.3 mi
  • "Old Number 6" Seattle City Light Locomotive: 11.3 mi
Artworks: 2
Museums: 2
  • Gorge Powerhouse Visitor Gallery: 11.6 mi
  • Skagit Aero Education Museum: 16.5 mi
Historic sites: 1
  • North Cascading: 8.8 mi
Hot springs: 1
  • Baker Hot Springs: 9.5 mi
Gardens: 1
  • Angele Cupples Community Garden: 16.2 mi

Summits around it

The highest named summits within 14.8 miles of Green Lake Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Mount ShuksanNNW 332°2,784 m10.8 mi
Luna PeakNE 46°2,533 m13.9 mi
Nooksack TowerNNW 337°2,530 m10.8 mi
Mount ChallengerNE 35°2,501 m12.1 mi
Crooked Thumb PeakNE 37°2,476 m11.6 mi
Mount FuryNE 43°2,474 m11.3 mi
Mount TerrorENE 57°2,448 m10.5 mi
Phantom PeakNE 38°2,443 m11.1 mi

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox07:1018:3719:19
June solstice05:0420:2321:13
September equinox06:5318:2419:06
December solstice07:5715:1816:13

Local time (America/Los_Angeles).

Climate normals

Months averaging 5080 °F: May–Sep.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F333640465357636358483934
Precip in15.38.810.46.74.53.31.81.94.810.516.014.1

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Upper Baker DAM, 10 mi away.

Months at or above the year’s average flow: May–Jul, Oct–Nov — fullest in May, leanest in Aug.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean cfs5694775066731,3091,2939184714947511,000543

USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Baker River AB Blum Creek Near Concrete, WA, 5 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.

Inside the official boundary of North Cascades National Park. Quietest months by visitation: Dec and Mar; busiest: Jul.

NPS visitation statistics, monthly averages 2021–2025 (2020 excluded).

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikidata

OpenStreetMap element node/583376002

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