Rock Creek Falls

Rock Creek Falls is a surprisingly significant three-stepped waterfall found where its namesake creek plunges into a deep, narrow gorge which extends upstream from the depths of the canyon of the South Fork Skokomish River. The falls consist of three distinct tiers, first dropping about 25 and 20 feet in two stout punchbowl-type plunges, then as the creek splits into two channels it plunges over the final 80-foot tier into the canyon below. The left side of the final tier drops into a small pothole pool about halfway down its descent, while the right segment makes a nearly clean leap into the bottom of the canyon. During periods of low flow in the summer, it's likely that only the right segment of the lower tier of the falls will flow. When we partially surveyed this waterfall in February 2018 there was only enough time for a brief look at it via a drone. There is no direct access to the base of the falls due to the steep slopes of the surrounding canyon, but there is one potential route down which involves following a tributary stream to where it joins with Rock Creek adjacent to the bottom of the falls. This route has not been tested however, and it may end up being impractical without the use of technical climbing gear depending on the topography where the two streams meet (at the very least the ground is expected to be very crumbly and unstable).