Bridal Veil Falls

Though rather generic and commonplace, Bridal Veil Falls is an apt title for this exceptionally scenic 180-foot tall waterfall along Hearty Creek. While perhaps not embodying the concept of a "Veil" quite as well as two or three of the other waterfalls in Washington which bear the same name, the lacy spreading shape of the falls, beginning as a narrow sliding flume and then spreading into thousands of individual droplets as it cascades down the cliff face lends immediately to the name which was bestowed upon it. The falls consist of two primary drops, the larger and upper tier falls 151 feet into a grotto behind a large wall of bedrock which partially obstructs the falls from view. The creek then bends out from behind the wall and drops another 29 feet into a small pool. Two more smaller falls exist below here, about 5 and 10 feet respectively but we opted to not count these drops as part of the falls as they are separated by some distance from the rest of the falls. Immediately below the final 10-foot drop of Hearty Creek below the main falls lies one of the most exceptional swimming holes in the North Cascades. Hearty Creek drains from a moderate-sized basin on the south end of the Twin Sisters Mountain massif. The stream heads in Heart Lake but is not fed by any permanent snow or ice, so once the winter snow pack has melted away the stream will shrink in volume considerably. While there is still snow melting, however, the falls can swell to an impressively violent size. Unfortunately, because of seasonal wildlife gate closures from November 1 to June 30 along FSR #12 used to access the falls, it may not necessarily be possible to access the falls while it is flowing at its peak levels.Bridal Veil Falls seems to have been discovered in June 1884 by a group exploring the headwaters of the South Fork of the Nooksack River led by L.L. Bales and M. Denehie. Journals from the expeditions specifically called out the falls by name and made the distinct note that it was prominently visible from the gravel bars along the river. This might suggest that the falls were discovered at an earlier date, but as much of the Nooksack headwaters seems to have been explored by L.L. Bales he may still be credited with discovering and naming the falls.