Happy Creek Falls

Happy Creek Falls is accessed from the Happy Creek Nature Trail, located 12 1/2 miles east of Newhalem or 1/4 mile east of the Ross Dam Trailhead along the south side of the North Cascades Highway in North Cascades National Park. From the parking area, follow either side of the nature trail loop to its apex, where a sign points to the Happy Creek Trail, and follow this continuation for another 1.2 miles to its end at the base of the falls. The trail becomes moderately steep and a bit rougher about three-quarters of the way to the falls, but remains easy to follow throughout.Happy Creek Falls is a rather lackluster cascading type waterfall set amid thick stands of forest and a surprisingly bare forest floor. The falls are created as Happy Creek cascades 82 feet over a series of bedrock steps, followed by several dozen more feet worth of cascades over and through large boulders which have amassed at the bottom of the falls, all of which is littered with fallen branches and small logs that have fallen or been washed down the drainage during recent flooding events. During periods of low flows, the creek will likely sink into the cracks in the rock, and between the gaps in the large boulders which cover the base of the cascades, making the falls seem all that much less impressive or visible.Shortly before the turn of the 20th century, several mines were actively worked near the mouth of Ruby Creek (now submerged beneath Ross Lake). The Ruby Hydraulic Gold Mining Company constructed several miles of ditches and wooden flumes to supply water to the mines for hydraulic excavation. A sawmill was built on the north side of Ruby Mountain to provide lumber for these flumes, which received power by water diverted from Happy Creek in the vicinity of this waterfall, and this activity probably was responsible for the waterfall being dubbed Happy Creek Falls in the first place. Relics of the diversion structure can be seen near the bottom of the falls along the trail.