Comet Falls is a 462-foot tiered waterfall on Van Trump Creek in Mount Rainier National Park, Pierce County, Washington. Its main 301-foot plunge streams out in a white tail of spray, the shape that gave it its name, and the steep hike to it is so popular that its small trailhead lot is often full.
The falls
Van Trump Creek, fed by the Van Trump Glacier on Mount Rainier, drops in four tiers of 78, 301, 52 and 19 feet, with a short boulder cascade in between. The Northwest Waterfall Survey measured the total at 462 feet; the 320-foot figure often quoted counts only the two main tiers. The creek flows all year and is strongest from late spring through summer.
Getting there
The trailhead is on the Paradise road about 4 miles east of Longmire, just above Christine Falls. The lot holds only about 16 cars, has no facilities and is often full; there is no other parking nearby. The hike is 3.8 miles round trip with about 900 feet of gain, roughly three hours; other measurements put the climb closer to 1,250 feet. The trail crosses Van Trump Creek on a bridge above rushing whitewater, then a footlog over the East Fork, and at about 1.2 miles climbs a short ladder of timber cribbing. Beyond the falls, the trail continues to the meadows of Van Trump Park, 5.8 miles round trip with 2,000 feet of gain.
Mount Rainier admission is $30 per vehicle for seven days, paid by card. No timed-entry reservation is required anywhere in the park in 2026. In winter the road from Longmire to Paradise has set gate hours and closes each night.
When to go
Wait until the snow has fully melted; before then, snow-covered slopes on the route are hazardous. The falls run strongly through summer. Van Trump Park above has meadows with views of Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens, and marmots, pikas and mountain goats.
On site
Wind-blown spray soaks the viewpoint, and rocks sometimes fall near the plunge pool, so keep back from the base. The creek below has been reshaped by debris flows and floods, and an avalanche in 2012 buried the valley under up to 200 feet of snow and closed the trail for a year. In 2011 a photographer fell about 40 feet from a cliff near the trail bridge above Christine Falls and was killed. Pets and fires are not allowed on the trail.
History and name
The falls are named for their resemblance to a comet's tail. Van Trump Creek, glacier and park honor Philemon Beecher Van Trump, who with Hazard Stevens made the first documented ascent of Mount Rainier on August 17, 1870.
Nearby
Bloucher Falls is about 0.2 mile away, and Upper Comet Falls and Van Trump Falls are each about 0.3 mile, all on Van Trump Creek above and around the main falls.
Distances are straight-line.