Rainbow Falls

The Baker Lake area is spackled with waterfalls, though only a handful are readily accessible. This is only one of two waterfalls on the entire south side of Mt. Baker that are officially named, let alone is easily accessible. Rainbow Falls occurs where Rainbow Creek drops into a narrow gorge at an obscure angle, then thunders into a deep canyon surrounded by tall timber. This combination of geology and forest makes viewing the falls without obstructions a very difficult task. Recently part of the slope below the road slid out and presumably undermined the stability of the viewpoint for the falls, and in result the Forest Service has removed the signage and viewpoint for the falls entirely. As the falls were no longer clearly visible from this viewpoint, this is no significant loss, but in contrast because the canyon is so dangerous and there is now no obvious way to view the falls it may pose an even greater risk to unwary visitors. There is a difficult but safe route to the bottom of the canyon which allows views of the falls from below, but the route is not at all easy to find and involves traversing above treacherous terrain so it is not recommended that accessing the falls via this route be undertaken. Rainbow Falls may have been altered a bit during the floods of 2003. The canyon was notably scoured from its previous state, and the upper tier of the falls is more heavily recessed in the slot at the top of the falls, making it almost impossible to see during periods of lower flow.