Mohawk Falls

Mohawk Falls is a surprisingly tall waterfall found along an unnamed drainage on the southeast side of Cleveland Mountain, just off the Miller River Road near the town of Skykomish. The falls drop a total of 349 feet in four distinct steps. The two uppermost tiers are difficult to see due to foreshortening when viewed from below, but the drops of 102 and 92 feet respectively can be glimpsed if downstream of the base of the falls far enough. The third drop is the largest, plunging over a slightly undercut cliff then impacting on smooth granite bedrock and sliding into a small green pool which would make an excellent (but small) swimming hole on a hot summer day. The final drop is a set of sliding cascades which swoosh and slide out of said pool, dropping another 34 feet before the creek resumes a more level course in its rocky stream bed. The stream producing the falls drains from a small basin immediately southeast of the summit of Cleveland Mountain, with its limits topping out between 4000 and 5000 feet. As there is no standing water or permanent ice feeding the drainage, expect the volume of the stream to decrease rapidly once the snow in this basin has melted for the season - usually by early July. It likely would not be unusual for the falls to run dry by September in many years, if not earlier. In close proximity to the falls is the Mohawk Mine, which is still actively in use. While the falls and mine are on National Forest land, should you stumble across materials or equipment related to activities at the mine (we noticed a blue wheelbarrow near the creek on our most recent visit, for example), please leave them alone.This waterfall nor its stream have an official name, so the falls have become known as such after the nearby Mohawk Mine, which is still in active use.