Little Olsen Falls

RATING - 24.0

VR - 2.0 (Sm) HR - 2.0 SR - 20/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Trail

DIFFICULTY - Medium

LOCATION - Marblemount Area

TYPE - Cascades

HEIGHT - 47'

WIDTH - 5'

DIRECTIONS - Take Highway 20 east to Marblemount and turn north onto the road to the Ranger Station. Stay to the right at the Y and follow the road to its end at the Cow Heaven Trail. The falls are located about 1.25 miles up the trail and are easily seen.

The Cow Heaven Trail climbs nearly 4000' in elevation from Marblemount to the meadows above. The first half of the trail follows Little Olson Creek. The creek is gorgeous and features a variety of beautiful drops through mossy boulders. There are also three legitimate waterfalls along the route that are small, but exceedingly gorgeous.

Little Olson Falls is the easiest of the three to get to. It's located at 1100' elevation and is right off the trail. It's a tough climb up the trail to the falls but it's worth it for this beautiful waterfall. The falls drop a total of 47': a 31' tall horsetail, followed by 16' worth of cascades.

The middle falls is a short distance upstream and the upper falls (which I neglected to photograph) is another half mile above that.