Ruth Creek Falls

RATING - 46.0

VR - 8.0 (Big) HR - 4.0 SR - 14/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Bushwhack

DIFFICULTY - Fairly Difficult

LOCATION - Mt. Baker Highway

TYPE - Tiered

HEIGHT - 70'

WIDTH - 10'

GPS - N48 53.664 W121 39.082

ELEVATION - 2170'

DIRECTIONS - No directions provided. Hazardous approach.

Ruth Creek is a large volume creek that runs over a fairly impressive waterfall just upstream from the Nooksack Cirque Trailhead. The waterfall begins with a 20' plunge. The creek then cascades for a short distance before entering a narrow slot and sliding down the slot before launching itself in the 40' tall main section of the falls.

Unfortunately, the waterfall is all but impossible to get a clear view of. I was able to find two views: one from the top of the 100' tall canyon looking down at the falls and the second from downstream that involved a very steep climb down a crumbly hillside. Neither of these views shows the entire waterfall, so that's pretty disappointing. It's also possible to wade right to the base of the falls later in the year when the volume is lower. This leads to a better view but spray is a huge problem at that point.