Otter Falls is a 1,200-foot sliding waterfall on Otter Creek in the Middle Fork Snoqualmie valley, King County, Washington. Otter Creek fans out across a smooth, steep slab of granite and slides down it in wide, pulsing sheets into Lipsy Lake, a small pool at the foot of the slab.
The falls
At about 2,900 feet the creek spreads over bare granite and slides for about 1,200 vertical feet to Lipsy Lake, with a steep horsetail of 505 feet in the middle of the slab. Where the waterfall begins is a matter of judgment: counting the sliding stream above, lidar suggests the whole descent could be closer to 1,870 feet. About 500 feet of the falls is visible from the lake.
Getting there
From I-90 exit 34, follow Middle Fork Road (Forest Road 56), paved since 2017, for 12.2 miles, then Forest Road 5620 for 0.4 mile to the gate. Parking requires a Northwest Forest Pass or America the Beautiful Pass. Cross the Taylor River bridge and follow the old logging road that is now Snoqualmie Lake Trail 1002. After about 4.75 miles a side path climbs left to Lipsy Lake; in 2025 the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, the Forest Service and Northwest Trails rebuilt it as a 900-foot connector with timber stairs and rock steps. The round trip is 8.5 miles with 1,150 feet of gain.
When to go
The falls run about seven months of the year, strongest from late April into June. Once the snow is gone from the granite basin above, they dry quickly, in low-snow years by the end of May. The trail is busy on weekends.
On site
Lipsy Lake is about half an acre, with the slab rising straight out of it. A winter 2025 landslide cut a channel about 10 feet deep across the trail around mile 3.5; rocks at the creek crossings are mossy and loose. Leashed dogs are allowed, and the hike is rated good for kids.
History and name
The falls have been called Otter Falls for decades; the alternative name Otter Slide comes from people who see the slab more as a waterslide than a waterfall.
Nearby
Big Creek Falls, about 0.5 mile farther up the same trail, slides about 300 feet over granite benches. Marten Creek Falls is about 1.3 miles away, and Treen Falls about 1 mile.
Distances are straight-line.