Loowit Falls is a 210-foot plunge waterfall on Loowit Creek in Skamania County, Washington, spilling out of the open crater of Mount St. Helens. It exists only because of the 1980 eruption and is reached by a long day hike from Windy Ridge on the Loowit Trail.
The falls
Loowit Creek carries meltwater from the glacier that has grown inside the crater since the eruption, and the falls formed as that water cut Loowit Canyon. The creek runs north through the east side of the crater breach. The World Waterfall Database puts the free-falling drop at about 210 feet, based on 2020 lidar data, and about 25 feet wide. The brink has retreated about 40 feet since 1994, and landslides and erosion keep changing the falls' shape.
Getting there
The hike starts at the Windy Ridge Viewpoint at the end of Forest Road 99. Directions follow Forest Road 25 from Randle, then 17 miles on Road 99. The route follows the Windy Trail to the Loowit Trail, then a spur up to the falls: 9.2 miles round trip with 1,200 feet of gain, rated moderate to hard. Windy Ridge requires a $5 day fee per vehicle, a Northwest Forest Pass or an America the Beautiful Pass, and there is a pit toilet at the trailhead.
The Windy Ridge access to the Loowit Trail is closed Monday through Friday from May 15 to October 31 through the end of 2027, and open on weekends and federal holidays. On the other side of the mountain, the Forest Service said in June 2025 that the SR 504 landslide had cut off the Johnston Ridge trailhead.
When to go
May through October is the best time to see the falls. Summers are hot and dry, and autumns windy and wet, in this exposed country.
On site
Glacier-fed surges can come down the creek without warning: stay out of the canyon, away from the creek and on its east side. Clean water is scarce on the route, so carry extra. Dogs are not allowed, and camping is prohibited between the South Fork Toutle River and Windy Pass.
History and name
Loowit is a Native American name for Mount St. Helens, which the creek and falls borrow.
Nearby
Step Falls and Lower Step Falls are each about 0.3 mile away on Step Creek, Middle Loowit Falls is about 0.4 mile away on Loowit Creek, and Toutle Glacier Falls is about 1.7 miles away. Morton is the nearest town, about 23.6 miles north.
Distances are straight-line.