SMC Falls

RATING - 30.0

VR - 3.6 (Sm/M) HR - 5.0 SR - 12/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Road Walk

DIFFICULTY - Medium

LOCATION - Snoqualmie Tree Farm

TYPE - Tiered

HEIGHT - 100'

WIDTH - 35'

DIRECTIONS - From North Bend, turn north onto Ballarat Ave, which changes to 428th Ave, and then North Fork Rd. Two miles after crossing the river, take the left at a Y in the road. In 4 miles, pass the Spur 10 gate. Park here and start riding your bike down the Spur 11 road towards the North Fork. After crossing the river, turn right and follow this road for about 1.5 miles to a Y in the road. Take the left hand fork and follow it uphill for another mile where the falls drops right next to the road.

The creek that drains SMC Lake contains a long series of waterfalls as it nears the North Fork of the Snoqualmie. SMC Falls is the easiest to view, literally dropping right next to the road, and impossible to miss. The upper tier drops about 60' in two drops, turning 90 degrees in the middle. The lower tier is more difficult to see but worth the extra effort. Here the creek runs over a beautiful fan-shaped waterfall before crashing onto the rocks and continuing its steep run towards the North Fork.

When the trees aren't in leaf, observant viewers may notice another waterfall upstream. While I have yet to get a clear view of that waterfall, it appears to consist of a plunging drop in the 100' range, followed by a lower tier of some sort. In addition, there is a lower falls downstream a short distance and Junction Falls and SMC Plateau Falls (not featured on this site) are located upstream further.