Sunbeam Falls

Sunbeam Falls is a name which is often attached to the small cascading falls along Sunbeam Creek where it passes underneath the Stevens Canyon Road near the Bench Lake Trailhead, above Louise Lake. In actuality Sunbeam Falls is a considerably more significant waterfall found between Louise Lake and the lower crossing of Sunbeam Creek (which due to the thick brush is almost impossible to recognize unless you know what to look for) at the point where Sunbeam Creek makes its first descent into the Stevens Canyon proper. The falls plunge a sheer 133 feet over a lofty cliff of volcanic bedrock, veiling outwards slightly at the top of the falls, which increases its breadth to about 30 feet at its apex. While Sunbeam Creek flows year round, the stream heads in an area of about one square mile on the Tatoosh and the meadows along Mazama Ridge - neither of which are areas which do not harbor permanent snowpack. Louise Lake helps to regulate the flow of water down the creek late in the season, but once the winter's snow has melted off by the end of July in most years, the volume of water in the creek will begin to drop at a rapid rate.