Upper John Pierce Falls

RATING - 40.0

VR - 4.0 (Sm/M) HR - 6.0 SR - 16/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Bushwhack

DIFFICULTY - Medium

LOCATION - Ross Lake Area

TYPE - Tiered

HEIGHT - 160'

WIDTH - 15'

DIRECTIONS - From John Pierce Falls, park and walk east along the highway for a few hundred feet and scramble into the woods. Climb steadily uphill for a few hundred feet until you are above J. P. Falls and then drop down to the creek. Stay away from the edge until you get above the lower falls so you don't die.

Upper John Pierce Falls is a gorgeous waterfall located just upstream from John Pierce Falls near Ross Lake. The main section of the falls is a horsetailing drop of a little over 100' that fans out as it falls. I suspect that this portion of the falls is much more plunge-y when the volume of the creek is higher but I can't confirm it until later in the spring. Upstream from this drop are several more cascading drops that bring the total height to about 160'. In addition there is a very small drop just downstream that is uber pretty. In the spring and summer, this is a great photo spot (see additional pictures below), but with the ice covered cliff in the background, the main falls just got blown out. It could probably be argued that this and John Pierce Falls should be considered one waterfall, but there is a noticeable flat section of the creek between the two and there is no way to see the two waterfalls together so I have separated them.