Franklin Falls Easy Beautiful Winter Hike Near Seattle
Franklin Falls - Easy, Beautiful Winter Hike Near Seattle
Franklin Falls in the winter is absolutely stunning! If you live in Western Washington, this easy winter hike is definitely one to add onto your bucket list. This winter wonderland is truly incredible. I have been hearing about this hike for years but did not get a chance to go do it until about a week ago.
REGION: Alpine Lakes Wilderness, WA Franklin Falls (#1036) / Denny Creek (#1014)
CROWDING: Moderate PETS ALLOWED: Yes ELEVATION GAIN: 400 ft Difficulty: Easy
PARKING PASS: Northwest Forest Pass or America The Beautiful Interagency pass
Seasons: Year-round Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
TOTAL DISTANCE: Summer: 2.00 miles, Winter with Road Closure 7 miles
TRAIL TYPE: There-and-back TRAILHEAD ELEVATION: 2,200.00 ft
LOCATION: Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Snoqualmie Ranger District (425) 888-1421
Weather: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=47.4131269146&lon=-121.442680121#.Wl6WaainGUk
When driving to get to the falls make sure you take Exit 47 off I-90. The Google directions want to take you to a closed road (NF-58) by the Alpental Ski Resort off of Exit 52 by West Summit which has massive snow walls and could turn a 2 to 3 hour hike into a 5 to 6 hour hike on an unmarked path going over 4+ feet of snow. The trail from Exit 47 is a much easier way of getting to the falls in the winter. Denny Creek is only an hour outside of Seattle making this easy winter day hike a great choice for many local Seattle families.
Also note that either A Northwest Forest Pass or America the Beautiful Annual Pass is required to park on the road off exit 47 near the trailhead.
Make sure you arrive either early morning or late evening if you want to have the falls to yourself. We started the hike right around 8 am on a Monday and arrived back at the car around 11 am. Made good time even with stopping to eat lunch and to take lots of pictures. There were only 2 other people at the falls when we arrived, but as we were leaving we passed many groups of people and saw at least 25 cars parked along the side of the road.
Beware of the gigantic potholes! They come up suddenly and could cause some serious damage to a small car! The pothole on the right hand side of the picture below, was much deeper than it appears to be in the image.
The correct starting point for this hike in the winter is just off Exit 47 despite Denny Creek Road being closed during the winter by the Northwest Forest Service. People park at the road closure and hike along this access road to the Denny Creek Campground where the Franklin Falls Trailhead is located, turning this normal 2 mile hike into a 7 mile round trip averaging about 2 to 3 hours of hiking time. Despite the hike in the winter being close to 7 miles round trip, this is a very easy hike with only 400 feet of elevation gain. Very beginner friendly.
To reach the Franklin Falls starting point from the road closure signs, you hike along Denny Creek road approximately 2.5 miles before reaching the usual trailhead. The road to the trail head was a combination of ice, snow, slush and patches of dirt.
The hike along the Denny Creek Road was very scenic with sunlight filtering through the trees onto the snow with glimpses of South Fork Snoqualmie River along the way. There is a rustic metal bridge crossing the river that makes for a scenic picture.
Once reaching the Franklin Falls trailhead the trail was entirely snow covered with slushy puddles in spots. This trail is very well marked. There are signs pointing which way to go. A good trail for beginner hikers but even hiking veterans would love this scenic little trail.
From the snow covered rocks and forest floor to the blue green South Fork Snoqualmie River cascading by, this is a scenic winter hike. I absolutely loved this cute little red cabin sitting by the river. There were also many other tiny cabins that we passed along the way.
There were several scenic lookout spots where you can see the gorgeous crystal clear South Fork Snoqualmie River. Stunning old growth forest with some really massive trees. There was one particularly large Western Red Ceder (Thuja plicata) that was right along the trail. Definitely a sight to see. This pristine winter hike has a lot to offer along the way before reaching the falls.
No snowshoes are needed. The ground is extremely hard packed from the amount of foot traffic this popular hiking trail receives causing the path to become be very slick and icy. Some sections of the trail were especially dicey to get over. The worst spot was the narrow inclined decent down to the falls. There is a rope attached for people to grab onto on the way down but I still saw people slip and fall.
After navigating down this treacherous ice stretch you can celebrate! Victory you made it!
The total drop of the falls is 135 feet, but the final drop of 70 feet is the only portion of the falls visible from the trail. What really makes this waterfall special is the frozen icicles clinging to the cliffs surrounding it.
I was absolutely amazed at the enormity of the gigantic icicles surrounding the falls. The continuous mist and spray coming off of Franklin Falls allows for these humongous icicles to form. During particularly cold spells, Franklin Falls completely freezes over and ice climbers flock to this trail to climb the frozen waterfall.
If you love birds, you won't be disappointed. There were these cute little Canadian Grey Jay's, also known as Camp Robbers, everywhere.
To the left of the falls is the freeway for I-90. Sadly the viaduct is placed rather closely to this beautiful winter picturesque landscape. Lucky the powerful roar of the falls drowns out the passing cars and trucks above where you can take in the serene beauty of the falls without the constant noisy disturbance of civilization. The purpose of the viaduct is to allow avalanches to pass beneath the freeway without causing damage to the interstate.
Getting to Franklin Falls I used Yak Tracks and they worked fabulously, but perhaps not as good as Micro Spikes. I was able to walk over everything without falling but perhaps with a bit more traction from Micro Spikes I would not need to be as careful with each step. There were a few sections where just a tiny bit more extra traction would have been nice. My friends that I was hiking with only had standard hiking boots and both slipped on the ice and fell several times throughout the hike while I did not fall once due to the extra traction the Yak Tracks provided. So if looking for a cheep source of traction to add to your shoes the Yak Tracks worked great!
I saw a lot of people coming up the road heading to the falls in just flat shoes with no traction. I’m not sure if they would be able to complete the hike past the worst of the icy sections to the falls with that footwear. There was also many people wearing clothes that are not meant for the snow. Please dress warmly and wear winter appropriate attire. I highly recommend getting either Yak Tracks or Microspikes for this hike.
Having Trekking Poles, warm winter clothing and appropriate footwear for this hike would also be a good idea. It was much colder when you got down closer to the falls especially after your clothing gets wet from the spray coming off of the waterfall.
Franklin Falls was everything i had hoped it would be and more. I will definitely be going back to this amazing place that feels like it could be from a scene from a movie. This partially frozen waterfall truly does make for one stunning vista.
Driving Directions: When approaching from Seattle or North Bend Take I-90 heading east. Take Exit 47 to (Denny Creek). From the Exit 47 off ramp turn left crossing the highway till you reach a T-intersection that you will take a right at. You will then see the Denny Creek Road closure. Park your car and can begin hiking to the falls.
Franklin Falls | Denny Creek Campground, Snoqualmie Pass, WA 98045
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