Lava Canyon Falls is a 132-foot veiling plunge waterfall on the Muddy River in Skamania County, Washington, on the southeast side of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. The Northwest Waterfall Survey calls it the tallest falls in Lava Canyon, which the 1980 eruption scoured clean, and counts it among the most dangerous waterfalls near the volcano.
The falls
The river hurtles 132 feet in a single drop into a gaping part of the canyon, striking a ledge a little more than halfway down. The falls are about 25 feet wide on average and flow year-round, strongest during spring and early summer snowmelt. A pool midway down disappeared in the 2006 floods. The survey measures 132 feet; Wikipedia gives 200. Between walls of columnar lava, the river drops 1,400 feet in 2 miles.
Getting there
The Lava Canyon Trailhead and Interpretive Site sits at the end of Forest Road 83, reached from Woodland on State Route 503 and Forest Road 90. Parking requires a Northwest Forest Pass ($5 per vehicle per day) or an America the Beautiful Pass, and the trailhead has a toilet. Forest Road 83 is subject to seasonal closure in winter.
The trail starts paved and barrier-free, descending to a viewpoint over Upper Lava Canyon Falls. The path then narrows along high cliffs to a suspension bridge; the main falls lies below it, best seen from an open bench on the canyon rim. The full canyon hike is rated moderate: 5.0 miles round trip with 1,600 feet of gain, including a cable-assisted water crossing and a metal ladder down a vertical cliff.
As of May 7, 2026, the suspension bridge was closed because of cable damage, so the usual 1.4-mile loop is not possible. The small upper bridge is open, and both banks can be walked down to the suspension bridge. The lower trail, from the suspension bridge to the Ship Trail junction, is unmaintained and not advised.
When to go
Flow peaks with snowmelt in spring and early summer. Floods and slides have closed the trail at times; check the trail page before driving up.
On site
The canyon rim is crumbly and largely unfenced, and the current above the falls is strong. At least three people have died at this falls since the trail opened; people who left the trail have been swept over. In July 2016 a 25-year-old hiker crossing the river just upstream stepped onto a submerged rock and was swept over. Stay on the trail and out of the river.
History and name
The canyon had been buried for about 1,800 years. In 1980 the eruption melted the Shoestring Glacier, and the lahar that surged down the Muddy River stripped away soil and vegetation and exposed the falls.
Nearby
Triple Falls is about 0.1 mile away, Middle Lava Canyon Falls about 0.2 mile and Lower Lava Canyon Falls about 0.3 mile, all in the same canyon.
Distances are straight-line.