Maidenhair Falls

There are multiple routes to the Wynoochee Lake area in Olympic National Forest. The most direct route is to take Highway 12 west from Olympia to Montesano, getting off at the Devonshire Road exit, then go straight at the intersection at the end of the off-ramp onto Wynoochee Valley Road, and follow Wynoochee Valley Road for 35.5 miles to where it officially becomes National Forest Road 2312 at the junction with National Forest Road 22; a sign at this point will mark the way to the Wynoochee Dam. An alternate route to this point is to take Highway 101 north from Hoquiam for 25 miles, then turn right onto Donkey Creek Road (Road 22), and continue another 14 miles to the aforementioned junction with Wynoochee Valley Road. From either direction, from the junction continue north on Road 2312 for about 5.8 miles to the north end of Wynoochee Lake, and turn left at the first major junction. Cross the Wynoochee River, and park near the junction with the next road that branches to the left (Road 2385) – a large parking area is found a little further up the road if nothing obvious is available). Find the Wynoochee Lakeshore Trail which starts about 100 feet down Road 2385, but is poorly signed (as of 2019 the sign post was in place, but the sign itself had half fallen off). The falls are encounter after a half mile of easy hiking where the trails crosses the West Branch across a large bridge.Maidenhair Falls is a small but surprisingly scenic waterfall found along the West Branch of the Wynoochee River about half of a mile upstream from its confluence with the main stem of the Wynoochee. The falls marks the entrance to a surprisingly impressive canyon along the West Branch, which includes at least three distinct but small waterfalls. Maidenhair Falls is generally considered to be just the uppermost fall in the gorge, visible from a footbridge which spans the river. The falls drop only 13 feet, and as of 2019 had a large log wedged vertically against it which partially obstructs the view. Downstream from the bridge the river can be seen pouring over another small fall into the narrows of the canyon, and a loud roar a short distance further downstream suggests another fall in the depths of the gorge. Sheer cliffs lining the canyon however prevent access. The West Branch of the Wynoochee River has a drainage area of 8.75 square miles upstream from Maidenhair Falls, and though it won’t flow with force for the entire year, it retains a healthy flow through the summer – the falls don’t particularly need much water to appear scenic anyway. During the winter months the swollen river may help to make the falls appear more significant, but it may also partially submerge the falls as the river backs up in the narrows below.