Crystal Creek Falls

RATING - 47.0

VR - 6.0 (Med) HR - 5.5 SR - 14/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Bushwhack

DIFFICULTY - Fairly Difficult

LOCATION - Rat Trap Pass

TYPE - Cascades

HEIGHT - 125'

WIDTH - 51'

GPS - N48 11.158 W121 21.515

ELEVATION - 2110'

DIRECTIONS - From Rat Trap Falls, drive south along FR 27 for about two miles until you see Crystal Creek tumbling down the boulders on the left side of the road. Park and make your way upstream however you can. This is probably impossible to do without getting your feet wet. The waterfall is only a few hundred feet upstream but it's a difficult, messy trip.

NOTE - FR 27 is frequently closed because of road damage so this one might only be accessible from the White River side, or not at all during some years.

Crystal Creek Falls is a remarkably pretty waterfall located a short distance upstream from FR 27. In fact, the waterfall can be glimpsed through the trees from the road, but one does not appreciate the size of the waterfall until up close and personal. The creek drops 125' down a shallow fan-shaped drop, spreading out to over 50' in the process. Towards the end it narrows back down to a skinnier shape. The waterfall is so wide and the view is from so close that it is very difficult to capture the entire waterfall in a picture. The area around the waterfall is pretty with lots of moss and trees. There is a small lower tier just downstream that could probably be added to the height of the waterfall if one was so inclined. While the trip up from the road is short, the creek is about as messy as any creek I've seen. You'll have to climb over a ton of downed trees, scramble over slick rocks, and most likely cross the creek at least once in the process.