Weeks Falls is a 77-foot segmented cascade on the South Fork Snoqualmie River in Olallie State Park, King County, Washington. It sits just south of Interstate 90 about 7 miles east of North Bend, a short drive past the park headquarters, and runs beside a small run-of-the-river hydroelectric plant.
The falls
The World Waterfall Database, which has surveyed the falls in person, describes a gradual cascade of three drops, the tallest 30 feet, spread over a run of about 300 feet down a jagged 45-degree pitch. Wikipedia gives a lower figure of 60 feet. A small dam above the falls sends roughly three-quarters of the river through an underground channel to a 4.3-megawatt generating unit, so for much of the year the falls carry only part of their natural flow.
Getting there
Leave I-90 at exit 38 and enter Olallie State Park; about 0.7 mile of gravel road beyond the entrance leads to a parking area with the falls in view. The road ends at a gravel lot and a paved, accessible overlook. The Weeks Falls Interpretive Trail is 1 mile round trip. The park is day-use only, open 6:30 a.m. to dusk year-round, and parking requires a Discover Pass ($10 a day or $45 a year). Check the park's alerts before going.
When to go
January through May is the recommended season, when high river flow makes up for the water taken by the diversion.
On site
The paved overlook takes in the falls and the area around the hydro plant, and an accessible interpretive path runs nearby. Dogs are allowed on leash. Cold-water shock and strong currents are a hazard on the river, and kayaking is permitted only downstream of Twin Falls. On May 21, 2017, two teenagers swimming above Weeks Falls were swept over it; one got out, and a 16-year-old drowned. Stay out of the water above the falls.
History and name
A local history blog on filming locations says the falls take their name from the nearby Weeks homestead, and places the site in Part 15 of the third season of Twin Peaks.
Nearby
Hall Creek Falls is about 0.7 mile away and Change Creek Falls about 0.9 mile. Upper Weeks Falls, 1.4 miles away, and Twin Falls, 2.5 miles away, are on the same river. The nearest town is Riverbend, 5.4 miles away.
Distances are straight-line.