Cherry Creek Falls

Finding this waterfall is no easy task, so copy down these directions if you want to be successful. From the junction of SR 203 and Woodinville-Duvall Road in downtown Duvall, head north on SR 203 for about 500 feet, then turn right on NE Cherry Valley Road. Follow this road for 4.3 miles to the junction with Mountain View Road and park here. There are numerous private driveways and roads leading to homes in the area, so please be sure to park only in the public right-of-ways on the west side of Mountain View Road or Kelly Road - and please respect any Posted and No Trespassing signs when you are doing so (the east side of said roads border on private land and may constitute trespassing). Find a gated DNR road 50 feet south of the junction of the two roads. Follow this road-turned-trail and the corresponding junctions as follows. At ¾ mile you'll cross Margaret Creek on a bridge, shortly after stay left at the first junction and right at the second (ignoring any grassy overgrown roads). After climbing a short hill, stay right at the third junction and proceed downhill. Where the road makes a sharp hairpin to the right at 1.5 miles, head left on a muddy track through the woods. This eventually turns back into a road. Keep following straight for another mile to Hannan Creek (flows through culverts). Shortly after crossing Hannan Creek, head right on a muddy two-track, following the sound of the falls. Shortly a firepit area is reached overlooking the falls, with a short path leading to its base, a total of 2 ½ miles from the trailhead.Cherry Creek Falls is the final major waterfall along Cherry Creek, as well as one of the better low-land waterfalls in the eastern Puget Sound area. The falls drop about 25 feet over a wide ledge of what looked like sedimentary rock (hard to tell with this much flow) into a large pool. The falls serve as the natural barrier for Salmon migration in Cherry Creek. When I visited the falls I witnessed a rather large Chinook making a futile attempt to jump the falls. Though Cherry Creek has a modest level of tannic acids in it, there is significant evidence that this is a popular swimming hole for the locals - illustrated by the boards nailed to the tree lying against the falls to assist in climbing back to the top. The falls flow well all year long, but late in the year, the left-hand segment usually runs dry, leaving the striking fan-shaped right segment flowing. Local residents have asked us to emphasize that there are numerous private drives and homes in the area, some of which hikers seem to confuse as the proper access to the falls. Please be sure to heed any No Trespassing or Posted signs you may encounter along the roads at the trailhead, as well as along the DNR road which leads to the falls.Cherry Creek Falls was the site of a logging camp operated by the Thomas Irving Lumber Company in the early 1900s. The operation ran on a standard gauge railway from a Mill in Duvall to the vicinity of the present day Marckworth "Freeway". Evidence of the operation is long gone, however. The name of the falls has been in local usage likely since this operation was in place.