Upper Boulder Creek Falls

Upper Boulder Creek Falls is the best waterfall in the Boulder Ridge area and occurs on the main branch of Boulder Creek just downstream from the glacier. The waterfall begins with a 20' plunge into a small, narrow canyon. The creek cascades through this canyon for 163' in a series of plunges, horsetails, and any other type of falling water you can think of before exiting and beginning the second half of the waterfall. This section is a series of bedrock slides, intermixed with steeper drops along the way. The waterfall finally finishes with a really cool 40' tall plunging drop right next to the bottom tier of nearby Samantha Falls. The total height of the waterfall is 429' over a run of 1000'. From the end of the trail, it is difficult to see and photograph most of the waterfall. It is possible to scramble down the side of the waterfall for good views of the drops. While it is impossible to see the entire waterfall from any one place, the individual drops are not horribly difficult to view. My favorite view is standing on top of the sliding lower half of the waterfall looking down into Boulder Creek Valley (see additional pictures below).