Louis Creek Falls

Louis Creek Falls is found near the head of the Napeequa River Valley in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. The shortest approach is to take the Little Giant Pass Trail to the Napeequa Valley Trail and follow it upstream to the falls. The falls are 9 1/2 miles from the trailhead via this route, but this also involves climbing 4000 feet in the first 4 1/2 miles, then dropping down another 2000 feet in the next 2 miles. The trek is grueling, brushy and very demanding. I don't recommend doing it in any less than 3 days. Other more scenic approaches can be made via Boulder Pass and High Pass, both of which involve just as much or more climbing and will require longer trips. There's a reason the majority of the people who see this waterfall are mountain climbers. A sheltered campsite with room for 3-4 tents is found about 500 feet south of Louis Creek along the trail.Louis Creek Falls is a very impressive waterfall stepping down the side of the text-book example of a glacially carved trough that is the Napeequa Valley. Louis Creek drains from a pair of tiny glaciers on the west side of Buck Mountain and though it doesn't flow heavily, it flows quite consistently all year. The falls drop approximately 1720 feet down the valley wall in 10 main tiers, but only the bottom 545 feet of the falls can be seen from the base due to foreshortening. The first 500 vertical feet of the falls can only be seen either from across the valley or up close from on top of the rest of the falls due to the way it twists in the gully. Unfortunately even the cross-valley views from on top of Butterfly Butte are limited and certainly won't convey the size of the falls nearly as well as standing at its base and unfortunately, neither will any pictures of the falls no matter how good they might be.