Chinook Falls

Take SR 503 to the town of Chelatchie and turn east onto NE Healy Road. Follow this road, which becomes FSR 54 after a couple miles, for 9 miles and bear left (uphill) on FSR 57 (54 turns to gravel at this point while 57 remains paved). Just over one mile further turn left onto FSR 5701 (still paved) and follow it to its end 3 3/4 miles further at the Siouxon Creek Trailhead. Hike the Siouxon Creek Trail for four miles to a junction and head left across the footbridge onto Chinook Trail #130A and follow it for another 1/4 of a mile to the bottom of the falls.Chinook Falls is often the destination of choice for hikers along the Siouxon Creek trail. The falls have jumped out of obscurity greatly over the last 20 years due to improvements to the Siouxon Creek trail, most recently landing on the cover of the official map of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The pretty 62 foot falls veil into a large pool flanked by amphitheater cliffs and, when in season, a carpet of vanilla leaf scattered around the plunge pool. In contrast to the other waterfalls in the Siouxon Creek drainage, Chinook Falls is becomes a much more photogenic waterfall as the season progresses - much of the detail of how the water interacts with the cliffs is lost when the creek is running high.