South Fork Falls

Drive 15.1 miles east of Clear Creek Falls to Tieton Road #12. Drive this route for 4 1/2 miles, then turn left onto South Fork Road #1000 after you cross the river. Drive 11 1/4 miles to an unmarked turnout on the left side of the road. There is a steep dusty path that leads down to the base of the falls in .2 mile.South Fork Falls is a fairly broad and very scenic waterfall along the South Fork Tieton River near the Conrad Meadows area east of the Goat Rocks Wilderness. The trailhead is not terribly obvious, so the falls do not see many visitors, but it is a surprisingly easy waterfall to access. The trail can be quite dusty during the dry season, and the talus surface can be very loose. The falls, framed by cliffs on one side and Western Red Cedars on the other, come into view just as you round the last switchback and are the perfect backdrop for a picnic in the small meadow in the foreground. An upper tier visible just upstream, but there may not be any easy way to approach closely.South Fork Falls has been identified by name dating back to at least 1935, when the falls appeared marked on a map of the Tieton Recreation Area of the Snoqualmie National Forest (which pre-dates the current Wenatchee National Forest and the Goat Rocks Wilderness). At the time the falls were only accessible via trail, so chances are its discovery was tied either to the construction of the original trail leading up the South Fork Tieton River, or by exploratory parties who probed the drainage (possibly the same Mazamas group who trekked to the Goat Rocks area in 1915 and discovered the plethora of waterfalls along Conrad Creek). An article in the July 25, 1889 edition of the Yakima Herald describes a journey into the South Fork Tieton drainage, and identifies a "Lion Falls" in the process. It isn't clear exactly what feature this was identified as, however the context within the article suggests this may have been an early name given to South Fork Falls.