Wells Creek Falls

Wells Creek Falls is an exceptional example of the classic Plunge type waterfall, and is one of the more easily accessed waterfalls in the Mount Baker area. The falls jump off the lip of a dark volcanic cliff, hurtling 93-feet into a verdant amphitheater - from which the creek exits via a very scenic bubbling trough between cliffs before meandering down a much broader rocky streambed to join the flood plain of Bar Creek below. Because of Wells Creek's size, it has been known to frequently swell to very considerable size in the late spring and early summer months, enveloping the whole basin around the falls in a thick cloud of mist. Prior to the floods of 2003 the short walk to the falls took considerably more effort, requiring fording the creek several times and putting up with a modest amount of brush. The floods took care of the brush, turned the whole channel into a giant gravel bar, and straightened the stream's channel out considerably (as well as wiping out the road in the process), making it a much easier waterfall to access today - though it is still necessary to ford the creek at least once to reach the falls. Relics of the flood in the form of huge crushed culverts can be seen in the broad flood plain downstream of the Wells Creek Road.A map produced in 1912 specifically denotes the historically correct name of this waterfall to be Wells Creek Falls, and places its height at 90 feet (a remarkably accurate estimate it turns out), but the Forest Service and the USGS never appear to have marked the falls by name on any maps they have produced. Likewise Greg Plumb's Waterfall Lover's Guide books all continue to indicate the name to be unofficial. Oddly, the difficult to access Mazama Falls, which occurs about 2 miles upstream along Wells Creek, has been named and marked on most maps since before the 1912 map was produced. It is likely the party which discovered and named Mazama Falls also discovered Wells Creek Falls.