Bear Creek Falls is a 25-foot tiered waterfall on the North Fork Skykomish River in Snohomish County, Washington, where the river forces its way through a short, twisting granite gorge northeast of Index. The drop is small, but Wikipedia notes that what sets it apart is the sheer volume of water going over it.
The falls
The river pinches into a narrow gorge and falls in three main steps, a chain of plunges and punchbowls about 120 feet long. The shape changes with the water: at low flow the upper drops are 8 to 9 feet each, while high water drowns the upper tiers and lengthens the lowest drop to about 17 feet, per the World Waterfall Database's survey. Below the gorge the river spreads out to almost 200 feet wide. Because the gorge bends, parts of the falls are hard to see or photograph from any one spot.
Getting there
The Mountaineers place a pullout for two or three cars 12.2 miles up the Index–Galena Road from US 2 at Index, with a use trail down to the river. That stretch of road is currently closed: in December 2025 Snohomish County gated the Index–Galena Road between mileposts 10 and 14 after flood damage near the North Fork Skykomish bridge, with no repair date set. American Whitewater reported the gates still closed in February 2026. Check the county's road status before planning a visit.
When to go
The falls run year-round, with the highest flows over about seven months of the year. The county normally closes this section of road in winter because of snow and ice.
On site
The use trail ends on bare rock at the top of the gorge. Better views downstream require scrambling over polished rock with wide gaps, and a slip into the violent current could be fatal. Stay well back from the water.
History and name
The falls take their name from Bear Creek, which joins the river right beside them, not from the stream they are on. Photographs of the falls date back to at least 1912.
Nearby
Spire Mountain Falls is about 1.1 miles away, San Juan Falls about 1.3 miles and Troublesome Falls about 1.6 miles. Blanca Lake Falls is about 3.1 miles away.
Distances are straight-line.