Kulshan Falls

Take Highway 542 to the town of Glacier, north of Mount Baker. From the Ranger Station just across the Glacier Creek bridge at the east end of town, continue east along the highway for seven-tenths of a mile and turn right onto Glacier Creek Road, following signs to Heliotrope Ridge. The trailhead is found another 8 miles up Glacier Creek Road - keep straight at all major junctions - and is well indicated by the large parking area and restrooms (and likely many vehicles). Hiking the trail on foot, the falls will be encountered at the 2.2 mile mark, or about four-tenths of a mile after the bridge-less crossing (the first of four along the trail) of Kulshan Creek. The falls can be seen from the trail itself, however clearest views require a short scramble down a steep slope to the creek itself, or walking through the relatively open forest to the top of the two lower-most tiers from the last switchback next to Kulshan Creek before the trail bends further to the east.Hiking along the excellent Heliotrope Ridge trail on Mount Baker, Kulshan Creek is the first major stream which one must ford without aid of a bridge. In both approaching the creek, and climbing along side it after crossing, one can't help but cast gazes through the trees toward the rushing water due to the ever-present roar calling out like a siren. Just as the trail bends away from the creek the payoff is encountered - a vista of this attractive multi-stepped cascading fall which drops a total of 215-feet in a run of about 330-feet down a dark stair-stepped rock lined on either side with large fir trees and huckleberry bushes.
The falls are made up of five distinct sections which vary substantially in character. The uppermost section is a 94-foot series of cascades down a slot in the bedrock no more than 5-feet wide, followed by a slightly wider plunge of 24-feet. Following this the creek spreads out over a broader ledge, then contracts as it cascades 54-feet. This is then followed by final plunging tiers of 22 and 19-feet respectively.
Though Kulshan Creek technically originates in a portion of the Coleman Glacier which extends west along the top of Heliotrope Ridge, it drains from a very small part of the glacier which ultimately only influences the volume of the stream significantly during the hottest days of the summer. For the majority of the year the creek is dependent on seasonal snow melt at lower elevations, and once the snow is gone - or if daily temperatures are not high enough - the volume of the creek will drop considerably, and hence the impressiveness of the waterfall. Our first survey of the falls occurred on a 90-degree day in early September, and the falls were quite boisterous. Subsequent visits have been on much cooler days where the falls have been considerably reduced.