Crater Creek Falls

Crater Creek Falls is a surprisingly significant waterfall found just a short distance away from the popular Mowich Lake area in Mount Rainier National Park. The falls, found along Mowich Lake's small outlet stream, drop 79 feet in two distinct steps over a cliff of dark Andesite; the upper tier cascading and then veiling down in a rectangular pattern for a total of 60 feet, and then the lower dropping another 19 feet. The falls are not visible from any trails in the area, but they can be plainly heard from the immensely popular Spray Park trail just a short distance from the Mowich Lake Campground. Crater Creek is a fairly small stream, and while Mowich Lake is itself large enough to ensure a slow and steady outflow for much of the summer, the drainage area feeding the lake is limited. A small inlet stream draining from Knapsack Pass will ensure that the falls on the outlet of the lake flow with a decent volume for much of the summer, but by the autumn months the flow may dwindle to a trickle.