Agathot Falls

Agathot Falls is located immediately downstream of where the Swift Creek Trail crosses the unnamed stream which drains the north side of Mount Ann. Take the Mount Baker Highway (Highway 542) to the Lake Ann Trailhead, located in between the Heather Meadows Visitor Center and Artists Point at the end of the road. Hike the Lake Ann trail for 2.3 miles to the junction with the Swift Creek Trail, marked by a wooden post, then bear right onto the Swift Creek Trail and continue another two-thirds of a mile to where it crosses the creek immediately upstream of the falls. In order to get a clear view of the falls a short bushwhack is necessary - continue past the creek crossing (no bridge, so prepare to get your feet wet) for another one-tenth of a mile, then drop down the slope to the right towards the falls to a natural bench across from the falls. A more distant view is also possible from the opposite side of the canyon by dropping off the trail about one-tenth of a mile before reaching the creek.Agathot Falls is a moderate to low volume waterfall found along one of the many headwater streams of Swift Creek in the basin between Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan. The falls drop 121 feet where its stream plunges into the beginning of an arm of the Swift Creek canyon system located below Artists Point. The canyons in the basin are carved into thick Tuff and Breccia deposits which were emplaced by eruptions from the Kulshan Caldera - the remnants of the volcano which predated Mount Baker as it currently exists. The caldera was centered roughly in between Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan and the Swift Creek basin lies largely within its eroded remnants. Virtually every waterfall which occurs in the upper Swift Creek basin is formed where streams have eroded into the deposits left from the eruptions of the older volcano. The unnamed branch of Swift Creek which this waterfall occurs along is fed by a small glacier on the north flank of Mount Ann (marked on topographic maps as Peak 5681), which ensures a modest flow of water is present at the falls all year despite the 0.4 square mile size of the drainage area. In addition to the glacier, the creek does flow with considerable vigor through the majority of the summer due to the immense winter snow pack this part of the North Cascades receives - the nearby Mount Baker Ski Area currently holds the record for the greatest seasonal snowfall total in the United States. When the winter snow has melted off completely, the glacial melt is all that remains to fuel the stream but still provides an adequate volume to make the falls attractive.