Ipsut Falls

Take Highway 410 to the town of Buckley, then bear east onto Highway 165, signed for Carbonado, Wilkeson and Mt. Rainier. Follow Highway 165 for 16 miles, bearing left at the fork (follow signs to Carbon River) after the Fairfax Bridge, to its end at the National Park boundary – the road beyond having been closed permanently due to extensive flood damage. Continue either on foot or bicycle for another 4.9 miles to the former end of the road at the Ipsut Creek Campground (now a backcountry camp). Park your bike if necessary and continue on foot along the Carbon Glacier Trail from here. After just two-tenths of a mile the trail crosses one of the remnant channels of the disastrous 2003 floods that destroyed the campground, immediately after which is a marked spur trail to the right which leads another 200 feet to a view of the falls.Hikers striking out for the Carbon Glacier or points beyond should consider pausing for a look at this pretty yet tantalizingly obscured waterfall along Ipsut Creek. The falls consist of two primary tiers, first a veiling fall which rolls over a rounded ledge and drops 49 feet into a bowl in the canyon, followed by a more vertical fall where the creek constricts through a narrow gap and falls another 38 feet. Below the falls lies a huge log jam which forms another fall of sorts as the creek pours over and around it, but more than anything else the logs obscure the view of the falls. A second log jam has started to form in the narrow gap between the two tiers of the falls as well. Ipsut Creek used to be the site of a semi-popular campground, and the creek itself just downstream of the falls was the source of drinking water for the area's facilities. However record-setting floods in 2003 and 2006 completely destroyed the campground and tore out the pump house for the water supply, so this no longer is the case. The campground now functions only as a backcountry camp with no vehicle access.