Angel Falls

The waterfalls of Covell Creek are accessed most directly via the Burley Mountain Trail near Tower Rock in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. From Randle, take SR 131 south towards Mt. St. Helens, then bear left onto Forest Road 23 towards Trout Lake (Road 25 continues straight to St. Helens and Cougar). After about 13 miles, turn right onto Forest Road 28, following signs for the Cispus Center and Tower Rock. Continue 2 miles on Road 28 to just beyond the bridge across Yellowjacket Creek. Here, Road 28 continues straight and becomes gravel - take this, do not follow the pavement. On the now gravel extension of Road 28, continue another 2 miles to the Burley Mountain Trail, indicated by a wooden sign board next to the road. The trail climbs moderately up switchbacks for the first half mile to a junction. To reach Angel Falls, stay left at the junction and continue another 1/4 mile. The base of the falls will be encountered shortly after crossing Covell Creek.Angel Falls is a low volume but lofty waterfall found along an unnamed tributary stream to Covell Creek which parallels Covell Creek itself in its bound down the side of the mountain. Though lower volume than the neighboring falls on Covell Creek, Angel Falls is much more prominent in that it's visible from the loop trail in the area. Viewed from below, 263 feet of Angel Falls can be seen streaming down the side of the mountain in hundreds of tiny rivulets set against cliffs covered in thick layers of moss. Because of the less than vertical pitch of the falls, a fairly significant degree of foreshortening is observed when viewing Angel Falls, and the upper hundred feet or so of the falls will appear to be quite a bit less significant than in actuality. Topographic data indicates there to be another section of falls immediately upstream of the trailside portion (which cannot be seen from below) which may add an additional 160 feet of height to the falls. A survey of this section of the falls has yet to take place. Should this estimate pan out, it would make Angel Falls one of the taller waterfalls in Washington State south of Mount Rainier National Park. The stream which produces Angel Falls is indicated to head in a spring high up on the side of Burley Mountain, but despite any consistent supply of water it may receive, its drainage basin is quite small - covering just one-third of a square mile in area. Because of this limited drainage size, Angel Falls rarely flows strongly and should be expected to run nearly, if not entirely, dry by late August during most years.The origin of this name hasn't been confirmed, but it is suspected to have derived from the fact that Covell Creek Falls, found shortly downstream from here, has at times in the past been colloquially known as Phantom Falls, and the name Angel Falls was meant to play off the theme.