MackIntosh Falls
RATING - 66.0
VR - 8.0 (Big) HR - 7.0 SR - 10/20
TYPE OF APPROACH - Trail
DIFFICULTY - Fairly Difficult
LOCATION - Goat Lake Trail
TYPE - Cascades
HEIGHT - 260'
WIDTH - 35'
GPS - N48 01.342', W121 21.482'
ELEVATION - 3038'
DIRECTIONS - Drive south of Darrington on the Mountain Loop Highway. About 2 miles north of Barlow Pass, turn left onto the road signed for the Goat Lake Trailhead. Park at the trailhead and head out. Take the Lower Elliott Trail when given a choice. It is a shorter route and much more scenic. The falls are encountered in about 4 miles, just before reaching Goat Lake. The main section of the falls can be seen from just off the trail.
MackIntosh Falls occurs on very large Elliott Creek, just downstream from the outlet of Goat Lake. The falls begin with a little 10' slide just as the creek leaves the lake. Below here, the creek dumps over the 100' tall main drop, beginning almost vertically and becoming more shallow along the way (pictured above). From here the creek splits around a little island and continues to cascade for another 100' or so. The total height of the waterfall is around 260'. The large volume of Elliott Creek combined with the tremendous height of the falls makes this one of the best waterfalls along the Mountain Loop Highway. There are at least three different ways to spell MackIntosh, but as far as I can tell, this is the correct spelling for the waterfall.
