Ethania Falls

Ethania Falls is the second to last waterfall along St. Andrews Creek and is easily the most scenic and my personal favorite. The falls veil 127 feet over a broken cliff lined with old growth Cedars and lots of moss. Like nearby Larrupin Falls, this one is quite difficult to access. In climbing back to the Westside Road after visiting the falls, the dense brush in the area decided one of my two-way radios needed to be sacrificed to the gods, never to be seen again. Also like with Larrupin Falls, it appears there was once a very well maintained trail that led downstream from Denman Falls at least as far as Ethania Falls, if not all the way to the Puyallup River. Traces are very visible in several places, but elsewhere was impossible to follow. The former trail, if restored, would make a fantastic hike for those biking the Westside Road.The origin of the name of this waterfall has long been a mystery, however a recently uncovered copy of The Mountaineer's journal from 1914 may offer a possible answer. In it Ben Longmire, one of the early pioneers who homesteaded at Longmire Mineral Springs, mentions naming a waterfall "Ethonian Falls" after the then Park Superintentant (Ethan Allan, who served from 1913-1914). It seems more than likely that this naming simply evolved into "Ethania" through either word of mouth, creative liberties, or mapping errors over the years. It also specifically mentions Longmire also naming Denman Falls, also on St. Andrews Creek, after Asahel Holmes Denman, so it follows that the unspecified waterfall which was intended to hold this name is indeed Ethania Falls.