First Falls

From downtown Granite Falls follow the Mountain Loop Highway east for 10 miles to the Verlot Ranger Station, then continue another half mile and turn right onto 342nd Street. Cross the Stilliguamish River on the one-lane bridge (watch for oncoming traffic) and park on the left at the barricades immediately after crossing the bridge. Walk down the old road for about 500 feet to the falls on the right.First Falls is a modest, low volume but easy-to-access waterfall found just outside of Verlot along the Mountain Loop Highway. The falls occur along an unnamed stream which drains a gully between Heather and Twentytwo Creeks on the north side of Mount Pilchuck. Though the stream's drainage basin is quite small, Mount Pilchuck seems to be one of the most consistently wettest places in the Washington Cascades, and in turn the stream is almost always running with more than just a trickle of water. The falls drop 49 feet over a mossy cliff, followed by a runout down a log and debris choked bedrock chute for another 20 or so feet before passing beneath the former Monte Cristo Grade Road in a culvert. It is very likely that there may be additional falls upstream of this one, however access further upstream appears quite difficult thanks to cliffs running along the old access road for some distance.This waterfall has no official name, and was given the unofficial title "First Falls" by Greg Plumb in his Waterfall Lovers Guide books due to the fact that it was the first waterfall encountered as one drove down the old Monte Cristo Grade Road before it washed out.