Chinook Creek Falls

Motorists traveling along Highway 123 in Mount Rainier National Park often notice an eye-catching waterfall across the valley from the Seymour Peak tunnel a few miles south of Cayuse Pass. Most simply take a quick picture and proceed on their way, oblivious to exactly how significant this waterfall actually is. As Chinook Creek rumbles down from its namesake pass, it drops over several small waterfalls, but shortly before reaching its confluence with Dewey Creek the stream plunges off a hanging valley in a very scenic and rather impressive waterfall, dropping 221 feet in five distinct steps; 42, 102, 21, 26, and 30 feet respectively. When viewed from the highway, only the uppermost 42-foot tier and no more than half of the 102-foot tall tier of the falls are visible, the rest remains obscured by the thick forest below. However those who are able to make the rather precarious scramble to the base of the falls can achieve a much more revealing vista of the falls. At this point along its course, Chinook Creek is sustained entirely by snow melt from the Chinook and Cayuse Pass areas. Though the creek technically heads in Tipsoo Lake, the lake is not large enough to ensure a stained flow throughout the summer and the outlet will sometimes dry out as the water level drops. This means that Chinook Creek itself behaves almost as a seasonal stream at this point - though it rarely seems to actually go dry. In following, Chinook Creek Falls is not terribly noteworthy a waterfall beyond the beginning of August, and attempting to get close to the falls after that point will likely result in disappointment given the amount of effort involved.We had previously listed this entry as Upper Chinook Creek Falls, but after uncovering nearly a half-dozen additional waterfalls further upstream, as well as coming to the blatant realization that this is far and away the most significant waterfall along Chinook Creek, the naming conventions of the falls along the creek have been slightly changed. The waterfall which we had previously listed with this title is now listed as Lower Chinook Creek Falls.