Forest Lake Falls

Forest Lake Falls is a low volume waterfall which drops 34 feet over a rugged moss-covered cliff at the head of a narrow gorge high up in the Huckleberry Creek drainage, north of Sunrise in Mount Rainier National Park. The falls occur along what is likely the largest of the multiple headwater streams which form Huckleberry Creek, about one-eighth of a mile away from tiny Forest Lake. Below the falls the creek continues to cascade further, and an additional waterfall may be located a short distance downstream however we have not yet had the opportunity to investigate. The branch of Huckleberry Creek which produces this waterfall drains from a basin encompassing approximately 0.85 square miles in area. The entire basin is located above 5,600 feet above sea level, and receives a heavy winter snow pack. Snow retention in the two cirques below Mount Fremont is typically good until late July, ensuring a good release of water through the beginning of the summer. By mid-August the volume in the stream is typically quite reduced, and may be just a trickle by the end of September.