Elk Falls

Elk Falls is a rather uniquely shaped waterfall along an unnamed tributary to Elk Creek just east of Elk Pass near Mount St. Helens. The falls drop a total of 206 feet over a rugged basalt cliff, split between the 141-foot upper tier and 65 foot lower tier. The upper tier begins as the creek splits into two channels and makes a clean leap over the cliff, but the rock causing the split protrudes considerably out from the cliff such that only one segement of the initial drop can be seen - the other is deeply incised in a narrow alcove and obstructed from view by a small tree. Once the stream exits from the alcove, the two channels then can be seen skipping side-by-side down the remainder of the upper tier of the falls. The lower tier begins after a small pause on a ledge, and again splits into two channels, with the majority of the volume of the creek veiling down into a pool retained by a large logjam, and then sliding down a sloping cascade, while the other segment veils down the extent of the remainder of the bedrock and bypasses the logjam. Because of the orientation of the falls and how it interacts with the bedrock, it's difficult to view the entire falls from any one location, but the majority of it can be seen by scrambling up two logjams near the base of the falls (which can be a bit treacherous). The stream producing Elk Falls is quite small, draining from an area of only about 1.2 square miles, most of it below 4000 feet in elevation. Though this region of the state does typically receive a considerable amount of snow in the winter, the lower elevation ensures that most of it melts off by the time the roads which provide access to the area are open (namely FR 25), so there is a rather limited window in which this waterfall can be seen under optimal conditions. By August in most years the falls will likely be just a trickle, if not entirely dry.