Lava Divide Falls

RATING - 68.0

VR - 6.0 (Med) HR - 10.0 SR - 8/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Roadside

DIFFICULTY - Very Easy

LOCATION - Baker Lake Road

TYPE - Tiered

HEIGHT - 992'

WIDTH - 40'

GPS - N48 45.076 W121 42.325

ELEVATION - 1527'

DIRECTIONS - Drive out Baker Lake Road to the huge bridge over Boulder Creek. Almost immediately turn left. In about 1.5 miles, turn left again and drive towards the Boulder Divide Trailhead. A short distance before you reach the trailhead, the top of Lava Divide Falls can be seen across the valley. (It's getting a little tougher as some trees are beginning to block the view.)

Lava Divide Falls is one of the best waterfalls in NW Washington. Unfortunately, it's also one of the most difficult to appreciate. The falls occur on a rather large volume, unnamed creek near Baker Lake and begin with 159' worth of slides and cascades. Below this the creek drops 353' in a series of 30-50' drops seen in the picture to the left. Finally, the creek horsetails over a massive cliff face before dropping over several more small drops. This bottom section totals 480' in height, bringing the grand total to just under 1000' tall.

During the snowmelt season, this is a big creek tearing down the cliffside. Later in the summer the creek reduces substantially in volume, but it will always have some water. The view from across the valley is impressive, but for the adventurous few who make the difficult trip to the base, it's astounding.