Heather Meadows Falls

Located at Heather Meadows, off of Highway 542 near Mount Baker. From wherever you are starting, the destination here is Mount Baker. The fastest way is to drive I-5 to Bellingham, then take Highway 542 east. Heather Meadows is located 3 1/3 miles prior to the end of the road (at the Ski area). Galena Creek Falls can be found 1/3 of a mile before reaching the one-way road which circles Picture Lake at Heather Meadows. The road makes a wide turn, flanked by sheer rock walls, and a concrete bridge over the creek in the middle. There is a gravel road right next to the bridge where you can park shortly.Heather Meadows, in between Mounts Baker and Shuksan, is certainly not lacking in the scenery department. The view of Mount Shuksan across Picture Lake is world famous, the nearby Bagley Lakes are just as scenic, and from the road's end, sweeping views abound across the Cascade Mountains. Most people who come up here for the scenery usually disregard the area in terms of waterfalls, even though there are a few worthy of note; Heather Meadows Falls being the easiest to access. The falls occur next to Highway 542, at the last crossing of Galena Creek. The almost ephemeral stream, at this point, runs very low for most of the year, but has carved a surprisingly substantial gorge at this waterfall. The falls drop about 30 feet over a wall of columnar basalt, common in the area, and flow down a shallow gravely box canyon before emptying to meadows below. The creek is almost completely reliant on snowmelt at this point, and can run dry late in the summer in dry years, so the best time to visit the falls is late May to early July, while there is still substantial snow on the ground in the basin above.This waterfall had previously been listed on this site as Galena Creek Falls.