North Fork Falls

Located in Cougar Mountain Regional Wildlife Park. Easiest way to reach the trailhead is as follows. From 405, head east on I-90, exit at Lakemont Boulevard (Exit 13) and turn right towards Newcastle. Proceed 3 miles on Lakemont to the Red Town Trailhead parking area on the left side of the road, just before crossing Coal Creek. Cross the road and pick up the Coal Creek Trail heading downstream. North Fork Falls is encountered about 1/4 of a mile from the trailhead, just after crossing Coal Creek on a footbridge.So how far from the Seattle Metro area do you need to go to find waterfalls? Actually, you don't even need to leave the metro area. Located just 10 minutes from downtown Bellevue is Cougar Mountain Regional Wildlife Park, a major portion of which is drained by Coal Creek. There are in fact 5 major waterfalls in the park drainages. Of those 5, this is the best. Actually, this is the only waterfall in the area that flows year round. The area immediately surrounding this waterfall used to be a large-scale railroad depot for a coal mining operations on Cougar Mountain. Just upstream from the bridge immediately above the falls there is an exposed embankment of coal visible. If you walk downstream from the falls for about 50 feet you can see where the creek flows over old wooden planks used to keep the track bed of the railroad above the creek. A small 5 foot waterfall now occupies the rotting end of the boards. North Fork Falls takes on a Horsetail form during low water periods.Presumably, this waterfall is named such because it lies on the North Fork of Coal Creek (though the maps at the trailhead indicate the North Fork to be elsewhere).