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After work to three small waterfalls

Posted by Stevefromdodge (2007-08-27)

Friday, I had had enough of work for a while. Disappearing up the East Fork of the Lewis River offered a chance to get out of cell phone range for a bit. I had never been to either of the County Parks in the area, so why not?

Lucia Falls Park offers a 1.1 mile paved, wheelchair accessible hiking loop, but all of the scenery turns out to be in the first tenth.The water is all off-limits to protect salmon runs, so no swimming here. Here are a couple of views of Lucia Falls in August:

Moulton Falls has less park, but a bit more water activity. Swimming is permitted here, which seems odd. I'm not sure why it harms salmon at one spot, but a mile upriver they don't mind. The waterfall is a bit more showy too.

The most interesting waterfall in the area is well known to locals, but seems absent from popular documentation. Just above Moulton Falls a creek flows into the river. Maps call it Big Tree Creek, but the road signs say Yacolt Creek. There's a trail up the creek from Moulton Falls Park. About 2/10 of a mile in. the trail passes this old wagon wheel surrounding a tree.

About 3/10 of a mile up the trail is this beautiful waterfall. There are usually people here; on my last visit I shared the area with a group of beer-bellied male swimmers and and a professional photographer using the waterfall as a model's backdrop.

There's an interesting trail bridge here, the only swing trail bridge I've ever seen. I've seen the bridge closed (open to hikers) in the summer and open (closed to hikers) in the winter. Does anyone know why a trail needs a swing bridge?

Re: After work to three small waterfalls

Posted by joerunner (2007-08-29)

I love the wagon wheel part. I wonder how long it has been there.

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