Wilson Glacier Falls

Wilson Glacier Falls can be seen from the Glacier Vista and Panorama Point areas along the Skyline Trail at Paradise, within Mount Rainier National Park. From the Visitors Center at Paradise its about a mile and a quarter to Glacier Vista along the Skyline Trail.The Wilson Glacier is one of the smaller chunks of ice on Mount Rainier and like the Success is to the Kautz Glacier, is sort of a parasitic glacier of the Nisqually. Its largely connected to the Nisqually Glacier, but the lowest point of the Wilson ends on the top of a cliff parallel to the Nisqually and as a result most, if not all of the meltwater coming out of the Wilson Glacier flows over this cliff in a massive 315 foot tall, 75 foot wide waterfall. However, this is a peculiar waterfall. Based on my personal observations, it almost behaves like a reverse seasonal waterfall, flowing only when its been exceptionally warm out. That's not to say this is a seasonal waterfall, but it does flow at a much heavier rate during the hottest days of the summer than during the melt period in the late spring and the volume of the falls can fluctuate greatly depending on the weather, so don't expect a behemoth all the time. The other major downside to this waterfall is because it flow out of one glacier and literally right onto another, there is no way to get close to the falls aside from a helicopter, so long distance views have to suffice.