Murhut Falls

Murhut Falls is located in the Duckabush River area of Olympic National Forest, west of Highway 101. Drive about 3-1/2 miles south of the Dosewallips River in Brinnon, or just under 5 miles north of the small town of Triton, and turn west onto Duckabush Road. Follow this road for 6 miles, then head left on NFR 2150, following signs for Murhut Falls. Follow Road 2150 for another mile and a half to the trailhead, following road signs where applicable. The trail leads to the falls in an easy 0.8 mile.Murhut Creek is a tumultuous stream which drains from a narrow basin on the south side of the lower Duckabush River valley. The creek descends over 1200 feet in less than a mile as it tumbles down to the river, forming a multitude of waterfalls along the way. Murhut Falls, dropping 153 feet in total is the largest of the falls, falling in steps of 117 and 36 feet respectively. The narrow ravine which the falls drop into is lined with huge Cedar trees and a lush temperate rainforest under-story of Salal bushes and ferns. A short distance downstream from the main falls there are two smaller falls, each dropping about 10 feet, which can be accessed from social trails which drop off the main trail just before reaching the main falls. Not far downstream is the brink of Middle Murhut Falls, which can be heard from the trail but is hidden deep in the gorge below. The first half of the Murhut Falls trail follows an old logging road which shows evidence of having several spurs branching off it at one time. The official trail to the falls is relatively new feature, but the presence of these old roads in the immediate area suggests that the falls were almost certainly known of for quite some time before the Forest Service build the current trail system.