Wallace Falls, Mt. Baker National Forest-Snoqualmie Trip Report
May 7, 2005
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John Munyan
126 Review(s) to Date
John is an avid hiker, spending a goodly portion of his time up in the hills, or sitting in front of a computer.
Either way, most of what finds his eye is green, or blue, - organic, or lcd. John likes this website, hopes you do too, and invites you to write a review of a couple hikes you've done!
alexi
32 Review(s) to Date
There are photographers, and then there is me. When I am not at work, and sometimes even while there am thinking about photography and the outdoors.
Representing it Wasatch style, yo!
I give my photos 5 yams!
Directions: Drive US 2 east from Everett to milepost 27.9 in Gold Bar. Turn left (north) at the Wallace Falls State Park sign. From there it's 1.7 miles to the trailhead.
Trail Notes: This hike begins from a large paved parking lot in Wallace State park. Overhead you will hear the crackling of high voltage power lines. The first though you might have beyond that you wouldn't want a house right here is that the hike is probably not going to turn out that well. Au contrare. The hike is actually quite nice, particularly if you are the type of person who likes waterfalls, are just getting introduced to hiking, or haven't been in a while such as myself.
That said the hike begins along an access road to service the powerlines, but within 10 to 15 minutes enters the trees. The contrast is quite stark and happens so quickly as to make you do a double take on the change. The trail itself is very kind for the first couple miles. Along the way there is ample time to suck in the history of the area, and there are several signs outlining what has happened here in years past.
Turns out this area was formerly logged around the turn of the century and the evidence of this activity can still be seen today in the form of notches cut out of old growth tree stumps that acted as platforms for loggers in search of fresh timber. Also there are signs indicating remnants of a former rail grade can be found here though we were unable to spy them.
In a short while the trail reaches a fork offering two paths to Wallace Falls. One path winds along the river and another goes up through the trees. We opted to follow the path through the trees on the way up and take the river trail on the return. Selecting the path through the trees is a good idea if you are looking for some alone time. The amount of traffic this area sees is considerable as evidenced by both the parking lot and built structures you see along the way.
There are several waterfalls along the way, so many that honestly they blur together. The first couple are rather small, as you cross the first log bridge, but the next two of size are relativly large and grow longer ultimately culminating in the larges - Wallace Falls itself. The views of the waterfalls vary, and you really aren't able to get close to them since the canyon walls are deeply cut. Still they are quite pleasant.
The trail does get a little steep en route to Wallace Falls itself though the shortness of this stretch shouldn't be pause for concern. Beyond Wallace Falls there one can travel to Wallace Lake and double back, or choose the DNR road. There is a sign pointing out that people get lost in this stretch and care should be taken. The trail does seem to get lost in the underbrush, but I doubt it is that tricky to follow. Still if you have any doubt about your navigation skills etc. it is probably wise to turn around here. We did, but that was more of a time interest decision than anything else.
Overall, I would say from an effor to payout ratio this is a nice hike to do, and if you have guests from out of state I would definently consider taking them here. It isn't difficult.
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Reviewed By: Anonymous on Sunday, December 18, 2011 @ 07:35:01 PM
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Review: We went and stayed in a cabin thinking we could get to middle falls in 1.5 hours. nope. only made it a little ways. really beautiful
Does anyone know if you can camp at the upper lakes?
64 degree Sunday afternoon
Reviewed By: Bianca on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 @ 12:26:45 PM
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Being fairly new to hiking, this trail kicked my butt. It is great excercise, several places to stop and rest. I took a couple trails that led down to the river, got some great pictures. Took the "Woody" trail and made it to the top, went down the same way. This was on a Sunday at 4:30pm, so there was plenty of parking space available, made it back by 7:45pm. Brought my dog and she loved it, good excercise for her as well. Drive from Renton took us about 1 hour 20 minutes, very easy place to find . Already planning a return trip, this time attempting to go to the lake. 
Reviewed By: Atom on Sunday, March 21, 2010 @ 01:09:07 AM
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I hiked this trail twice in the last few weeks. Once on Tuesday March 16th, 2010. and once on Wednesday March 10th, 2010. On the 10th there was still snow up at the lake. This hike is definitally a great one and well worth the hike to the lake. Not too difficult, but mainly uphill either toward the falls or the lake. I took the woody trail along the river to the falls and than followed up around onto private property (still following the trail) through and up to the lake. The trails are improperly marked but not too hard to follow. Maily the mile markers have some discrepencies and occasionally you have to look at the return signs to fully make sure you are going in the right direction. Actually broke the snow line while getting within a mile or 2 of the lake. Made for a pleasant lunch (very cold) at the top. and than hiked back down the Greg Ball trail across some of the old railroad grade and than back to the parking lot. maybe about 10 ~ 11 miles. it's hard to add up the mileage when hiking, DON'T TRUST THE MAPS, THEY ARE NOT TO SCALE!
On the 16th of march i was very supprised to not see snow at the lake. after less than a week it was clear and pleasant. Hiked around to pebble beach (otherside of the lake). it was very well worth it. great beach with amazing views, don't just stop at the picnic tables by the bridge. Almost went further to Jay lake or the other lake at the top (can't remember the name). it's 1.6 miles further to jay lake from pebble beach (said the mileage sign, however these are not fully reliable). After hiking the greg ball again back and forth (time crunch) I realized there are 2 sings about .5 miles apart which both say the lake is only .6 miles away. strange huh? oh well. the total hike from the parking lot to the lake via greg ball is 4.5 one way. pebble beach is worth it and makes it an even 10. We hiked up to the lake and around in about 1 hour and 45 min and than came down in about an hour and a half. Kinda a fast hike. I would generally allow 4-5 hours on this hike and add a long lunch at the top (or to continue on to the next few lakes)
I heard news of a new campsite up at Jay lake. However all camping and fires are prohibited (says the signs) definitally at Wallace Lake. Does anybody know anything about this campsite?
Best hiking to you all!
Wallace falls
Reviewed By: Anonymous on Saturday, May 16, 2009 @ 09:35:21 PM
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It was a great hike. I took my 9yo daugther on it for her first hike. The only bad part was I almost fell over a ledge when a fence I was leaning on shifted forward about a foot.
1-19-09
Reviewed By: AR on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 @ 11:05:19 PM
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Trail was in good shape to both Wallace Falls and Wallace Lake. Snow about halfway up the Ball trail and 6-12 inches in parts near the lake.
Nice easy hike with lots of waterfalls to keep people interested along the way.
Reviewed By: Abe on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 @ 05:45:11 PM
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Agreed with most people on here...easy hike in which you'll see plenty of people. We took it 2 weeks ago, on a Saturday; and man you couldn't walk 20 yards without passing someone. With that said, the end result is quite beautiful. Very hard to get good views of the falls, though hiking off trail and shoot up towards the top of the falls. If your into paved paths, outside people and easy hikes...this one is for you.
If you want to get out in the buch and do some crazy hiking to a remote fall that will blow your mind, this one may not be for you.
Nice Hike but too crowded
Reviewed By: Anonymous on Saturday, May 24, 2008 @ 06:17:55 PM
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This hike is very easy. I saw many families with young kids and dogs on the way up and down. The waterfall is extremely beautiful with lots of water pouring down due to the snowmelt. This is a good starter hike for this early in the season since many other trails are still covered with snow especially this year.
One thing to remember is go very early, because we arrived a little before noon and there was no mpre parking spaces. We had to park our car way down before we enter the trail in the grassy area along the roadside.
Wallace Falls
Reviewed By: Adam M. on Thursday, September 13, 2007 @ 01:07:19 PM
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This is a great hike for the summer, there is swimming and it is not too difficult of a trail.
Lame
Reviewed By: fire513 on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 @ 08:43:57 PM
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I thought this was a waste of time. Had a hard time getting a good view of the falls because it is so roped off at the top. I could hear the falls very well though. Try something else unless you really want to cross this one off your list.
Field Trip
Reviewed By: Emily on Thursday, May 3, 2007 @ 10:42:10 PM
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Review: I went on this trip with my 9th grade science class about 3 years ago. I really enjoyed the difficulty, it was easy at the beginning and got harder as you went up. The trail was well maintained and beautiful. Even in warm weather i would reccomend bringing a jacket cause under the shade of the trees it can get chilly fast. The lower falls were nice but the most impressive were the middle falls, if you go it would be most worth it to at least go there. The upper falls are nice too but the view isnt as good as the middle if you're looking for a workout then the upper falls is a great idea since it is the toughest part of the trail. I really enjoyed this trail but i would also reccomend going with friends or it's no fun!
Missed the lake
Reviewed By: Justin on Saturday, June 24, 2006 @ 09:55:50 PM
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Review: This was the first hike of the year that I did. It was nice just to get out of town and into the woods. We hit the trail at 9:45 and there wasn't a lot of people at that time. I did like the lower parts of the falls because they were easyer to see and take a good picture. Once we reached the top we stoped for lunch at the end of the DNR road just past the top of the falls. We decided to go to the lake. Well when we got to the cut off for the lake there was a "Y" in the trail and we went to the right. That was the wrong way. We figured this out about .5 miles up this 35* road but fallowed it up another .5-1.0 mile. There was nothing to see and we turned around and headed back down the hill.
On the way back to the DNR road we saw the sign in the bush faceing us as we headed out. At this point we opted not to go the extra .6 miles to the lake. Hit the DNR road and fallowed it till we came to the new Greg Ball trail and fallowed that out. The first .5-1 mile was kinda wet and muddy. Looks like they are working on it. That trail was nice and good to get out of the sun and back in the shade.
Over all I liked this hike. And buy the way I was carrying my 25lbs son on my back in a new pack. Total pack weight 45lbs. I wanted to try it out before I go on any longer hikes with him. So this was a good hike to test out your new gear.
Total hike time: 6hrs
Total miles: 15-16
Full loop is worth it
Reviewed By: MikeP on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 @ 04:24:17 PM
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Review: We brought our new dog along for her first hike and so did everyone else. Most dogs I've ever seen on a hike. I personally prefer Franklin falls for this sort of flat waterfall hiking. There is no access to that water or riverside at any point during the hike. It is an excellent place to take a dog - someone even had a Pug with them all the way at the upper falls.
Followed the blue trail at the top to the DNR road, but skipped the extra .5 miles to Wallace lake because of how boring the DNR road was. It will probably be pretty in a month or so though as the sides of the road were lined by Foxglove which will be in full bloom shortly.
Took the new Greg Ball trail (not on maps but clearly signed) back from the DNR road to the railroad grade trail. The northern half of this trail appears to be newly cleared and generally follows the north fork of the river, which is on the map. The Greg Ball trail was the most enjoyable, despite the dense cover and total lack of views. The shade and constant sound of the north fork of the wallace river made it an enjoyable downhill experience. The railroad grade trail and the Greg Ball trail intersect just above the fork where the "Woody" trail breaks off from the railroad grade trail, 1.5 miles from the parking lot. The only views east into the Cascades are just before you leave the power line crackling and turn into the forest.
Perfect walk for the dog, but I'd much rather take out of town guests to Franklin Falls or Granite. There was no means to pay the $5 at the trailhead.
do the full loop!
Reviewed By: vern on Friday, May 19, 2006 @ 01:10:29 PM
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If you are going to do this hike do the loop, not just an up and down. After you make it to the upper falls look past the sign (that warns about continuing further and getting lost), and look for the blue trail markers. If you follow these up the trail about a quarter mile it will take you to a DNR road that leads to Wallace Lake, there are maps and distance markers at every intersection so don't worry about getting lost. After you reach and enjoy the lake, take the alternate road back toward the falls. This will pop you out on another DNR road that soon meets a freshly cut trail (when we went the trail was well marked, but not on any of the maps as of yet). This will take you back down to the main trail, about 1.5 miles above the parking lot. We figured the round trip to be about 12 miles and approx. 1700 ft elevation gain from parking lot to Wallace Lake, moving at a slow pace and taking lots of pictures will get you back to the parking lot in about 5 hours
March 25, 2006
Reviewed By: Alex on Saturday, March 25, 2006 @ 10:19:03 PM
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Review: This is a great hike, especially if you like waterfalls. There are many great places to take pictures, as long as you take the "Woody" Trail which follows the river, as opposed to the Old Railroad trail (which is one mile farther to hike). I did this hike with 3 friends and had great weather. We passed, and were passed, by many families and about a dozen dogs. This is a great hike for families, friends, and to do yourself. We hit the trail about 1pm and took our time, returning about 4:30pm. There were still a lot of people on the trail as we left. This is a hike for everyone, not as tough as some would say. It's about as strenuous as Little Si.
Good out of towner hike
Reviewed By: Michele and Alan on Wednesday, October 26, 2005 @ 10:06:47 PM
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Review: This hike is very well-maintained. It is full of lush vegetation and mossy branches. It is an easy hike except for the switchbacks towards the end. The hike is quite popular, so you will see quite a few people. (There's probably a reason why that parking lot is so big). Mushrooms galore this time of year. Anyone who is in fair shape could make this hike. The switchbacks are steep, but not very long. If you feel you can't make all of the steep part, that's ok, the best view is from the first lookout just after you do a few swichbacks. This would be a nice hike for out-of-towners. Not too difficult, nice views for minimal effort, and short day-hike.
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