Chocolate Falls is a 45-foot plunge on the East Fork Swift Creek, on the south flank of Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington.
The falls
World Waterfall Database classifies the form as a single plunge; a lidar reading, on a page updated in January 2025, gives a height of about 45 feet, up from the 30 feet used previously. Meltwater from the Swift Glacier feeds the falls, though much of it sinks underground, and the cliff usually runs dry from early July onward. A separate climbing-route guide gives the height as 40 feet.
Getting there
June Lake Trailhead reaches Loowit Trail 216 by a 1.6-mile trail; the small lot holds about five vehicles, with no restrooms or water. The Worm Flows climbing route passes views of the falls about two miles from Marble Mountain Sno-Park; the full route to the summit runs 10.8 miles with 5,700 feet of gain. A Mount St. Helens climbing permit is required year-round inside the restricted area, costing $20 per climber per day plus a $6 reservation fee from April through October; whether a visit that only reaches the falls, below the restricted area, needs that permit is not documented.
When to go
Flow is best earlier in the melt season; the cliff typically runs dry from early July onward. As of a December 2025 notice, Forest Road 83 is closed and gated at Marble Mountain, with winter access via Pine Marten Trail 245.
On site
June Lake Trailhead charges no day-use fee; winter parking at the Sno-Park requires the relevant pass.
Nearby
June Lake Falls is about 0.9 mile away, Shoestring Falls about 2.3 miles, East Dome Falls about 2.6 miles, and Ape Canyon Falls about 3.5 miles.
Distances are straight-line.