Cascades, The

Within Glacier National Park, turn into the Illecillewaet River valley (signed for Glacier House and the Illecillewaet Campground) and park at the trailhead parking at the end of the road. Follow the trail to the former railroad grade, turn right and proceed to the Glacier House site about 5 minutes from the trailhead. The falls will be visible behind you and up the mountainside as you cross the Illecillewaet River.The Cascades are a long series of falls and slides along Avalanche Brook as it descends the side of the Illecillewaet River valley near the site of the famous Glacier House in Glacier National Park. The exact height of the falls is difficult to determine because only a small portion of the falls can be seen from the trails around Glacier House. Topographic data shows the stream dropping in excess of 250 meters during its descent from the small basin above into the valley, and it looks plausible that the falls could account for a much as perhaps 200 meters worth of that drop, but without an extensive up-close survey (which would require steep and potentially dangerous scrambling up the mountainside), the full extent of the falls remains uncertain. The drainage basin for Avalanche Brook covers an area of about 2.6 square kilometers (1 square mile), most of which is located above tree line. There is no longer any glacial ice feeding in to the creek, however there used to be two small glaciers along the base of Eagle Peak and Avalanche Mountain which fed this stream, and the extensive morainal debris left in the wake of the glaciers might still harbor some permanent sub-surface ice. Both times that we have surveyed this waterfall, the flow has been healthy but not terribly significant. The fall will flow well in the early summer months, but will likely be reduced to just a small volume, if not a trickle, by mid to late September.The name of this waterfall is fairly obvious in its origin, but how far back it dates is unknown. Its very likely it was named around the turn of the 20th century when Glacier House was at its most active point.