Little Sandy Falls

RATING - 46.0

VR - 4.0 (M/S) HR - 7.0 SR - 18/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Bushwhack

DIFFICULTY - Extremely Difficult

LOCATION - Baker Lake Road

TYPE - Tiered

HEIGHT - 241'

WIDTH - 15'

GPS - N48 45.076 W121 42.325

ELEVATION - 1527'

DIRECTIONS - Drive out Baker Lake Road and park at the closed FR 1124. In about half a mile the road will fork. Hike up the left hand road for just under 5 miles to the 6th corner in the road. You should hear a small stream off the road. Leave the road and head uphill along the edge of the canyon. After about 1/4 of a mile you should hear the falls. There is one very steep, but relatively safe route into the canyon. Look for three large trees right on the lip of the canyon, one of which is leaning out over the edge and follow the steep ridge down.

Little Sandy Falls is a beautiful waterfall located in the heart of a very rough and rugged canyon. The waterfall consists of a 137' tall curtain of water, a 65' tall plunge, and 39' worth of cascades between the two. Below the falls the creek continues to run through a mess of jagged boulders as it cascades its way further down the mountainside. The first time I visited I got a nice view from the base (see left), but didn't climb up to the upper tier. That was a mistake, because the upper tier is absolutely stunning. This is a difficult waterfall to get to, but it's absolutely beautiful and one of my favorites on Mt. Baker.

As an added bonus, there is a small, seasonal waterfall that can be seen just before reaching Little Sandy Falls. It plunges about 150' over the same formation as Little Sandy (see Additional Pictures below). On my first trip into the falls, this seasonal stream was almost dry, but on the second one it was quite impressive, although I never got close enough to take pictures.