Lewis Falls

RATING - 59.0

VR - 6.0 (Med) HR - 7.5 SR - 14/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Trail

DIFFICULTY - Fairly Difficult

LOCATION - Washington Pass Area

TYPE - Tiered

HEIGHT - 352'

WIDTH - 35'

DIRECTIONS - Take HWY 20 east to Rainy Pass. Park and begin hiking the Lake Anne Trail. In about a mile, the trail will fork. Take the right hand fork heading up to Maple Pass. Once at the pass, take the right fork at the next junction and follow it towards Lewis Lake. Getting to the lake involves navigating a mile long boulder field that is slow going and tiring. If you stay low in the boulder field, you'll get a side view of Lewis Falls.

Lewis Falls is a very impressive waterfall that drops over an enormous cliff below Black Peak. The creek begins its life in Lewis Lake and after meandering through some meadows it encounters this cliff. The waterfall begins with 20' worth of cascades before turning a corner and dropping over a steep, 177' horsetail. The creek finally escapes from the confines of the narrow canyon and explodes down the 155' tall main drop. During lower volume times, like when I visited, this is a pretty fan shaped drop. However, satellite images show this to be a very powerful plunging drop when the snow is melting. Either way it's impressive.

To get a clear view of this main drop, I had to climb down some pretty steep and exposed rocks. I ended up standing atop a 150' cliff with the waterfall in front of me. It's a relatively safe trip if you're careful, but don't fall.

Right: Aaron checking out the falls from a cool vantage

Below Left: View of the falls from the trail

Below Right: Lewis Lake under smoky skies