A waterfall and a 2 mile hike on an 89 degree day? I’m there.
Trail Stats: 2 miles round trip, 300ft elevation gain
Directions: From Seattle, take I-90 East to exit 47. At the end of the ramp turn left (North) and drive over the highway. At the T intersection take a right (left leads to Granite Mountain). Continue 1/4 mile and take a left on to Forest Road 58. Continue on this road for 2.5 miles until you pass the Denny Creek campground. There is a gravel parking area on the left and the trailhead is right before the bridge over the creek.
Trail: Some days you’re just not in the mood for a long hike. In our case, it was a hot day and a waterfall sounded like a nice place to cool off. Franklin Falls is a nice easy hike that’s also perfect for kids. Just watch the rocks once you get to the falls as they can be slippery. Our dog even slipped on them.
The trail starts just before the bridge in the parking lot. This is a popular hike, so you may have to park further down the road and walk back. Be sure to sign the trail log at the trailhead.
The trail itself starts out in the woods and meanders its way along the side of the creek. You’ll see a couple cabins in the beginning, but mostly the views consist of the creek. Surprisingly, there’s little to no car noise on this hike considering it’s between the split section of I-90. The fall itself actually sits almost directly under the southbound side of the highway.
Roughly half a mile in to the hike, the trail meets up with the forest road you were traveling on. Keep walking down the trail. Eventually the dirt trail turns to rock and you’re almost there. As I mentioned before, the steps down to the falls get slippery, so watch your steps.
Once you reach the falls, stop for a bit and have a snack. On a hot day, the mist is quite a refresher. Once you’ve had your fill, turn around and head back the way you came.
As a side note, be sure to display your Northwest Forest Pass in the parking lot. We ran into a forest ranger checking the passes. We even got stopped for him to check ours on our way out.
[...] you happen to be in the Seattle area like me, the Franklin Falls hike is a perfect hike to start with. It has a nice waterfall at the end. So, there’s [...]
This article is not really for new hikers.
You need to explain what a NW Forest pass is and where to get it. I never heard of it and I’m not a new hiker, though fairly new to the area.
You said nothing about safety or equipment.
From Seattle, I hiked mostly in the Issaquah Alps. They have a trails club (the Issaquah Alps Trails Club) with weekly guided hikes, particularly good for beginners. They have a website.
UW Pack Forest near Eatonville has lots of graded (by difficulty) trails. They also have a website.
Since I’m a long time hiker recovering from injuries, I mostly do easy hikes. This is one I haven’t done and may check out when it gets a bit warmer. It sounds lovely!
Any time you want to park at a national forest in Washington and Oregon, you’ll need a pass. You can get either day passes or the annual northwest forest pass. I usually mention if you need one trail reports so people don’t forget. More information about the pass is available here:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/passespermits/