Pearl Falls
Pearl Falls is a waterfall in Washington, at a modelled elevation of 1,723 m. Columbia Crest stands 4,392 m to the north-northeast, 4.0 miles off. The nearest named place is Basalt Cliff, a cliff 0.5 miles away. JCT SR 7 VIC ELBE TO JCT ENTRANCE MT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK passes 7.0 miles off.
The story
Pearl Falls is one of the highest waterfalls in Mount Rainier National Park in the U.S. state of Washington. It is fed by the glacial Pearl Creek, occurring about halfway along the creek's course. The falls plunge about 400 feet (120 m) off a sheer columnar basalt cliff, unbroken for almost 200 feet (61 m), into an amphitheater-like basin, similar in form to the main drop of nearby Comet Falls. The columnar basalt was likely formed by cooled eruptions of Mount Rainier, which is a stratovolcano. Near the base, it crashes onto a rock ledge and fans out towards the left bank, before dropping again vertically onto a pile of talus and cascading downwards. It is located in a steep canyon on the southwest face of Mount Rainier. Pearl Creek drains to another glacial stream, Pyramid Creek, which parallels then flows into Kautz Creek and finally into the Nisqually River. There are also more cascades below the main drop of Pearl Falls. Access to the falls is extremely difficult, requiring at least two days to reach safely on foot. However, the falls can also be seen distantly from Ricksecker Point on the Mount Rainier Highway. Pearl Falls was named in 1912 by Albert Henry Barnes, a photographer from Tacoma. He named the falls for the fact that its spray resembled pearls under the right lighting conditions. Pearl Creek presumably took its name from the falls. On Kautz Creek only a few miles to the east, is Kautz Creek Falls.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q7158086, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 7.0 mi off the JCT SR 7 VIC ELBE TO JCT ENTRANCE MT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK
- 7.0 mi off the JCT SR 7 VIC ELBE TO MT RAINIER NAT PARK BOUNDARY
- 10.3 mi off the JCT MT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK TO JCT SR 162 VIC SOUTH PRAIRIE
- 11.5 mi off the JCT SR 12 OHANAPECOSH JCT VIC WHITE PASS TO JCT SR 410 VIC CHINOOK PASS
Overlooks nearby
- Silver Falls Overlook · 12 mi
- Palisades Viewpoint · 14 mi
- Sourdough Gap · 16 mi
- South Snoquera Point · 20 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Pyramid Peak: 0.7 mi
- Mildred Point: 0.8 mi
- Copper Mountain: 1.4 mi
- Glacier Island: 1.5 mi
- Iron Mountain: 1.5 mi
- Comet Falls: 1.0 mi
- Kautz Creek Falls: 1.0 mi
- Upper Comet Falls: 1.0 mi
- Bloucher Falls: 1.2 mi
- West Van Trump Park Falls: 1.4 mi
- Basalt Cliff: 0.5 mi
- Kautz Ice Chute: 2.9 mi
- The Ramparts: 3.0 mi
- Kautz Ice Cliff: 3.1 mi
- Wilson Headwall: 3.2 mi
- Packwood Cowlitz River Public Access Point: 14.4 mi
- Mineral Lake Access Area: 19.0 mi
- Rocky Point Beach: 20.0 mi
- Jack Morris Park: 21.4 mi
- Paul Kruger Memorial Field: 22.1 mi
- Paradise Picnic Area: 3.0 mi
- Sunrise Picnic Area: 10.7 mi
- Valley View Day Use Area: 15.7 mi
- High Point Day Use Area: 17.2 mi
- Eagle Crest Day Use Area: 17.5 mi
- Cross-section of 1293 Douglas Fir: 3.6 mi
- Stevens-Van Trump Historical Monument: 4.0 mi
- Marine Memorial Airplane Crash Monument: 4.7 mi
- Stephen Tyng Mather Memorial: 14.1 mi
- Clay City: 23.2 mi
- The Trident: 8.0 mi
- Coffee Cup: 8.2 mi
- Big Cedar: 12.0 mi
- Mount Rainier Railroad: 18.8 mi
- Ohop Ridge Christmas Tree Farm: 23.1 mi
- Longmire Museum: 3.6 mi
- Transportation Exhibit: 3.7 mi
- Historic Packwood Station: 14.6 mi
- White Pass Country Historical Museum: 14.9 mi
- Mount Rainier Railroad and Logging Museum: 18.0 mi
- Iron Mike Springs: 3.4 mi
- Bum Springs: 10.6 mi
- Log Spring: 15.7 mi
- Soda Springs: 16.4 mi
- Hidden Spring: 24.8 mi
- Wheel: 16.3 mi
- Recycled Spirit of Iron: 16.3 mi
- The Wilkeson Way to Carbon Glacier: 24.0 mi
- Bacon and Eggs: 24.2 mi
- Bevin Lake Rest Area: 17.5 mi
- Elbe Rest Area: 18.9 mi
- Ohanapecosh Hot Springs: 12.1 mi
- Waterfront: 23.6 mi
- Northwest Trek Wildlife Park: 23.8 mi
- Jean Caithness Greenlees Grove: 24.7 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 8.0 miles of Pearl Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Crest | NNE 28° | 4,392 m | 4.0 mi |
| Mount Rainier | NNE 30° | 4,392 m | 4.0 mi |
| Point Success | NNE 27° | 4,302 m | 3.4 mi |
| Liberty Cap | NNE 15° | 4,297 m | 4.4 mi |
| Gibraltar Rock | NE 40° | 3,863 m | 4.0 mi |
| Tahoma Cleaver | NNE 14° | 3,533 m | 2.9 mi |
| Saint Andrews Rock | N 8° | 3,520 m | 3.6 mi |
| Little Tahoma | NE 51° | 3,395 m | 5.3 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:11 | 18:40 | 19:20 |
| June solstice | 05:14 | 20:18 | 21:06 |
| September equinox | 06:55 | 18:27 | 19:07 |
| December solstice | 07:50 | 15:30 | 16:22 |
Local time (America/Los_Angeles).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jul–Aug.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 29 | 28 | 30 | 33 | 41 | 45 | 53 | 54 | 49 | 40 | 32 | 27 |
| Precip in | 17.2 | 12.9 | 13.2 | 8.3 | 5.1 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 4.4 | 11.3 | 18.2 | 18.9 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Rainier Paradise RS, 3 mi away.
Inside the official boundary of Mount Rainier National Park. Quietest months by visitation: Feb and Dec; busiest: Jul.
NPS visitation statistics, monthly averages 2021–2025 (2020 excluded).
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/5792689465
Day trips start here
- Mount Rainier National Park · 6 mi
- Eatonville · 23 mi
Take the scenic way to Pearl Falls.
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