Lower Elk Creek Falls is a 70-foot plunge waterfall on Elk Creek in Clearwater County, Idaho, in the Elk Creek Falls Recreation Area near the town of Elk River. The World Waterfall Database ranks it as the second largest of the several falls on this stretch of the creek, where it drops into a canyon lined with well-formed columnar basalt.
The falls
Elk Creek pours over a single drop, measured at 70 feet. Older measurements put it at 100 feet, and the Inland NW Routes guide puts the lower falls at about 50 feet, with the water gushing around a basalt wall. A planning document counts five waterfalls within a half-mile reach of Elk Creek and cites them as the basis for the creek's scenic value.
Getting there
The falls are reached on Elk Creek Falls Trail 740, rated easy to moderate and sometimes rough, visiting three waterfalls over 2.1 miles each way. The trailhead near Elk River has a toilet, picnic tables and grills. There is ample parking and no fee, and the trail runs about a mile to a junction before branching to the individual falls; the lower overlook is off the right-hand branch. A 2025 Forest Service trail report found Trail 740 cleared and the area day use only, with no camping.
When to go
The area is open year-round, but in winter visitors ski or snowshoe the last 2 miles to the trailhead.
On site
The lower falls are viewed from a built overlook, and visitors are asked to stay inside the viewpoint structure. Wet rock makes the whole area hazardous, dogs must be leashed and children need close watching.
Nearby
Several more falls on Elk Creek are close by: Middle Elk Creek Falls is 0.1 miles away, Elk Creek Falls 0.2 miles and Upper Elk Creek Falls 0.3 miles. On the neighboring stream, Lower Bull Run Creek Falls is 0.8 miles away.
Distances are straight-line.