Chinook Pass Falls

Chinook Pass Falls is located near Tipsoo Lake on the east side of Mount Rainier National Park. From the junction of Highways 410 and 123 at Cayuse Pass, follow Highway 410 east toward Chinook Pass and Yakima for just over a mile and park in the small pull out at the first switchback. On foot, locate the Eastside Trail which traverses through the small meadow just above the highway, and follow the trail uphill (to the left). After about 600 feet the trails makes a switchback where the falls will be audible. Leave the trail and walk another 100 feet through the forest to the base of the falls. The area can be muddy in the melt season, and harbors patches of Avalanche Lilies in the early summer months, so be mindful and try to keep to logs, rock or snow as much as possible.Tipsoo Lake is one of the most visited areas on the east side of Mount Rainier National Park and provides an excellent vista of the mountain looming over the alpine tarns which serve as the source for Chinook Creek. Almost immediately after the creek trickles out of the lakes and flows under the highway, it cascades 54 feet down a scenic but exceptionally well hidden waterfall set among a stand of sub-alpine fir trees. Despite the falls being situated only about 300 feet from the Mather Memorial Parkway - both upstream and down - it remains essentially an unknown feature because it can be neither seen nor heard from the road. The Eastside Trail passes within about 100 feet of the falls but only offers an audible tease of its existence; only those who answer its siren callwill be rewarded.
At this point along its course, Chinook Creek is essentially ephemeral and is sustained entirely by snow melt in the basin harboring the two Tipsoo Lakes at Chinook Pass. The lakes themselves are not large enough to ensure a stained flow throughout the summer and the outlet will often dry out once all the winter snow pack has melted off, usually by the beginning of August, at which point the stream will shrivel to just a dribble. Additionally, given the heavy snow fall which the Chinook Pass area typically receives (15-20 foot deep drifts are not uncommon), the falls can be expected to be essentially buried under snow until mid to late June at the very earliest, leaving a window of perhaps 2 months when they will be both visible and flowing with a significant amount of water.