Iron Creek Falls

RATING - 37.2

VR - 3.6 (Sm/M) HR - 7.0 SR - 12/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Roadside

DIFFICULTY - Very Easy

LOCATION - Illabot Creek Road

TYPE - Tiered

HEIGHT - 279'

WIDTH - 40'

DIRECTIONS - Head east along Highway 20 and turn south onto Highway 530. In a couple miles, turn left onto Illabot Creek Road. At somewhere around 8-10 miles, the road goes around a sharp corner and over Iron Creek (no sign). Iron Creek Falls can be seen from the road. It is possible to reach the base of the falls with a short bushwhack and I highly recommend that you do it.

This nice waterfall occurs where the West Branch of Iron Creek drops 279' in a series of drops over a large cliff face. I was shocked when I measured the waterfall as my eyeball estimates are usually pretty accurate. In this case I was off by 100'. This is probably due to foreshortening and the the fact that the upper sections of the waterfall are fairly well hidden from the base. The falls can be seen easily from the road, but a short bushwhack will allow a view from the base. At the height of snowmelt or after a few days of rain, the falls can be extremely impressive, but by by the end of the summer the creek all but dries up. The area surrounding the falls consists of a massive boulder field full of slide alder and vine maple. This boulder field fires up every autumn when these bushes turn color creating an amazing scene (see photos below).