Purgatory Falls

RATING - 48.0

VR - 6.0 (Med) HR - 7.0 SR - 6/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Bushwhack

DIFFICULTY - Medium

LOCATION - Newhalem Area

TYPE - Tiered

HEIGHT - 232'

WIDTH - 10'

DIRECTIONS - Take HWY 20 east from Burlington and through Marblemount. About 1/3 of a mile before crossing Damnation Creek, turn left onto an unmarked dirt road. Follow the road to its end and then head down to the creek. Follow it upstream until the walls begin to close in and then climb up the hillside on the left of the creek. Follow the boulder-y hillside for a few hundred feet to a viewpoint of the falls. The total trip from the car is maybe 1/4 of a mile.

Damnation Creek runs over a series of small drops, culminating in an 82' finale. Bryan from Northwest Waterfall Survey named the falls Purgatory Falls, one of his more clever names. The falls aren't exactly pretty but it's pretty impressive seeing the fairly large volume of Damnation Creek tumble down the mountainside. This one is not real difficult to get to but does involve a short climb up the steep hill and the viewing area is next to a straight drop of around 30'-50' tall so keep the kids away from this one. On my most recent trip I was able to reach the base, but it was difficult, wet, dirty, slippery, and you can't see the waterfall as well as you can from up above so just stick with the directions here.