Elk Creek Falls is a 115-foot, two-tier waterfall on Elk Creek in Clearwater County, Idaho, in the Elk Creek Falls Recreation Area near the town of Elk River. It is the tallest of the falls in this canyon, set between Upper Elk Creek Falls upstream and Lower Elk Creek Falls downstream, and the World Waterfall Database calls it one of the more substantial waterfalls in central Idaho.
The falls
Elk Creek drops through a volcanic canyon in two tiered horsetails. Lidar measurements put the total at about 115 feet, with the taller step about 75 feet; earlier inventories gave no height for it. The canyon is lined with columnar basalt, and three separate waterfalls in the recreation area fall more than 140 feet together.
Getting there
The falls are on Elk Creek Falls Trail 740, rated easy to moderate, with repeated climbs and descents over 2.1 miles each way to take in all three falls. The trailhead has restrooms, picnic tables, grills and trail information. A 2025 report measured about 3 miles round trip with 600 to 700 feet of elevation change to the lower and middle viewpoints; the upper viewpoint adds roughly another mile.
When to go
Spring through fall is the main season, while visitors snowshoe the trail in winter. The trail is popular.
On site
The falls are seen from viewpoints along the trail network, where the terrain is rough. On September 8, 2019, a 16-year-old hiking with friends slipped over the middle falls and died; his body was recovered four days later.
Nearby
The other falls of the group are within a short walk: Lower Elk Creek Falls and Upper Elk Creek Falls are each about 0.2 miles away, and Middle Elk Creek Falls is 0.1 miles. On the neighboring stream, Bull Run Creek Falls is about 1.1 miles away.
Distances are straight-line.