Wallace Falls is a 392-foot tiered plunge waterfall on the Wallace River in Wallace Falls State Park, Snohomish County, Washington, about 2.5 miles northeast of Gold Bar. The trail to its three viewpoints is busy enough that the park's lot fills early on weekends.
The falls
The World Waterfall Database, which surveyed the falls in person, counts four drops: a 265-foot plunge into a wide basin, a 75-foot drop with free-falling sections, then drops of 7 and 26 feet deep in the gorge. Only the first two can be seen from the trail. The falls can be seen from U.S. Highway 2 in the valley, about 5 miles away.
Getting there
The park entrance is at 14503 Wallace Lake Road in Gold Bar, open 8 a.m. to dusk all year. A Discover Pass is required: $10 a day or $45 a year. The park says the lot is usually full by 11 a.m. on weekends and asks visitors not to park along the county road to the entrance.
The hike is 5.6 miles round trip with 1,300 feet of gain, rated moderate. At 0.5 mile the Woody Trail branches right along the river; the Railroad Grade to the left is a longer route open to bikes. The Lower Falls viewpoint comes at about 2 miles, the Middle Falls at about 2.5 and the Upper Falls at 2.8 miles, with the steepest switchbacks on the last stretch.
When to go
The river has no glacier or lake behind it, so flow is best in winter and spring and drops substantially in summer and fall. One photographer's October weekday visit found light crowds and misty forest.
On site
The Middle Falls viewpoint looks over the Skykomish River Valley toward the Olympic Mountains. Dogs must stay leashed; the park warns that a fall over the waterfall would be fatal for a pet. In April 2018 the Snohomish County medical examiner ruled the death of a 30-year-old woman found in the park an accidental drowning. The park has two walk-in tent sites, five reservable cabins and permit backcountry sites at Jay Lake and Wallace Lake.
History and name
The name comes from Sarah Kwayaylsh, a Skykomish woman who homesteaded here; settlers anglicized her name to Wallace. A park ranger dates the first land purchases for the park to 1971 and its public opening to 1977.
Nearby
Upper Wallace Falls is about 0.2 mile away, Lower Wallace Falls about 0.3 mile, and North Fork Wallace Falls about 0.9 mile, on the North Fork Wallace River.
Distances are straight-line.