North Fork Falls

Drive south from Darrington along the Mountain Loop Highway for about 15 1/2 miles (about 7 miles past the end of the pavement) to FR 49 (signed for the North Fork Sauk Falls trail). The trailhead is another mile up the road. As of the summer of 2008 a slump in the road about 1/4 mile before the trailhead has the road closed. From the trailhead its less 5 minutes down to the falls.North Fork Falls is the upper of two significant waterfalls along the North Fork Sauk River as it drops to meet the mainstem Sauk in the Bedal area along the Mountain Loop Highway. The falls, standing 58 feet tall, slide over a domed rock then plunge into a pool from which the river turns 90 degrees left and flows down the narrow canyon directly away from the viewpoint. As it turns out there appears to be an upper tier to the falls that can be seen from the top of the ridge forming the canyon below the falls, however achieving a view of it requires off-trail travel. The North Fork of the Sauk River hurtles into a large bowl creating a thunderous roar that can be heard from the parking area (even in the pouring rain). It's possible to get down to the base of the falls, but the best views are from the rock ledge above the river. Use extreme caution when traversing the ledge, as it gets very wet from spray and is less than 1 foot wide in places. The falls are also known as North Fork Sauk River Falls. 45 foot Lower North Fork Falls apparently occurs 1/4 mile downstream.