Old Government Falls

RATING - 10.0

VR - 2.0 (Sm) HR - 2.0 SR - 6/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Trail

DIFFICULTY - Easy

LOCATION - Big Four Area

TYPE - Cascades

HEIGHT - 45'

WIDTH - 5'

DIRECTIONS - Drive east from Granite Falls along the Mountain Loop Highway through Verlot and past the Big Four Picnic Area. Park at a small pull-off on the left .6 miles after crossing Buck Creek. You should see an old road heading into the woods. Follow it for a few hundred feet to a little camp site where you should hear the falls. Find the trail heading off the left side of the circular campsite and follow it a few hundred feet to the falls, making one switchback in the process.

Old Government Falls occurs on a small, possibly seasonal creek right next to the Old Government Trail, which is rarely used anymore. The falls occurs where this small stream cascades down a narrow chute before crossing into a mess of logs and debris at the bottom. The waterfall isn't horribly impressive, but at the base of the falls and downstream, there is ample evidence of a large flood in the not-too-distant past. If you can catch this waterfall when the creek is running high I'm sure it's very impressive and the short hike is easy enough that it's worth the small amount of trouble even if the creek is low. The only hard part of getting there is finding the right starting point but if you watch your odometer after crossing Buck Creek you should find it.