Middle Tolmie Creek Falls

Tolmie Creek is found immediately outside of the Carbon River entrance to Mount Rainier National Park at the end of State Route 165. From Highway 410 in Buckley, take Highway 165 toward Wilkeson, Carbonado, and the Carbon River Ranger Station. About 3-1/2 miles south of Carbonado, just after crossing the rickety one-lane Fairfax Bridge over the Carbon River Gorge, veer left where the road splits - following signs pointing to the Carbon River Ranger Station. Continue another 6 miles to the bridge over Tolmie Creek - if you see the signs marking the boundary of Mount Rainier National Park, you've gone too far. Park just east of the bridge and locate an old logging road which is blocked off with a series of large boulders. Follow the barricaded logging road, which climbs up the hill at a rather brisk grade, for just over 3/4 of a mile to a fork just before the old road crosses Tolmie Creek. Bear left on the uphill fork (don't cross the creek) and continue along a slightly more overgrown road for another mile to an old bridge across Tolmie Creek - the only remnants of which are the stringer logs. Tolmie Creek Falls is situated immediately downstream of this old bridge, and the Middle Falls are found about 275 feet downstream from the bottom of the main falls. The easiest access is to drop down to the base of the main falls, then bushwhack downstream about 20 feet above the creek to bypass the cliff band, then drop to the base of the Middle falls where the slope eases.Middle Tolmie Creek Falls is a diminutive waterfall compared to its upstream sibling, but what it lacks in stature it makes up in charm. The falls plunge a sheer 35 feet over an undercut cliff of volcanic bedrock into a verdant little grotto, surrounded with ferns and moss. The rock at the top of the cliff partially splits the creek into two streams (at least when it isn't running full during the spring freshet) which merge mid-fall, giving the falls a little more character than it might otherwise have. Though Tolmie Creek is not a very small stream, its basin is limited in capacity to slowly release water through the summer months. A good sized marshy area is found not too far upstream of the falls, but the basin feeding the falls encompasses all of about 2.3 square miles, extending from about 3,300 feet to 5,700 feet above sea level. The higher elevations will capture a good volume of snow in the winter and help ensure the falls flow powerfully in the spring and early summer, but by August expect the flow to be significantly reduced (we surveyed the falls in mid July).