Lower Ladds Creek Falls

Lower Ladds Creek Falls is found south of Steamboat Rock along the shores of Banks Lake in Grand Coulee. The falls can be seen next to Highway 155 about 1.6 miles south of the main entrance to Steamboat Rock State Park, or about 14 miles north of the junction of Highways 155 and 2. There is no parking immediately adjacent to the falls, but there is a large pullout about 600 feet south of the falls which affords parking for several cars.Ladds Creek is a small drainage which empties into the east side of Banks Lake near the south end of Steamboat Rock, and harbors two significant waterfalls plus one smaller falls between them. The lower falls of the series is readily accessible, situated immediately beside Highway 155. When the creek is flowing, it can be seen dashing 106 feet down an outcrop of rugged basalt into a small pool framed by a thicket of scrub-like trees which obstruct the lower quarter of the falls from views from the highway from essentially every angle. While it appears there may be a small spring partially feeding Ladds Creek, because the drainage basin is exceptionally small - covering perhaps 2 square miles at most - unless there is active heavy precipitation in the immediate area above the falls, or there has been prolonged snow melt in the weeks prior, there will be little to no water present in the creek. We surveyed the falls in late April of 2017 several weeks after a significant snowfall event, and found the falls to be flowing considerably lower than expected. Unless several feet of snow fall in the area, expect the creek to essentially run dry within a few weeks of the melt out.