Rainbow Falls
Stehekin,
Washington
Overview
Ice age glaciers carved out the U-shaped troughs that form the Rainbow Creek and Stehekin River Valleys. The smaller glacier that dug out the creek valley did not cut as deeply, leaving Rainbow Creek suspended high above the river valley. This hanging valley resulted in the spectacular Rainbow Falls, an impressive 312 foot waterfall located 3.5 miles from the landing in Stehekin.
The falls are on the Stehekin Shuttle circuit, and a popular spot to visit while in Stehekin. A short hike on a gravel path takes you to the bottom of the falls, where you can view the lower cascade. There is a small loop trail which takes you to the upper viewing area. Heading sight on the trail is a series of steps on a stepper slope, while heading left will take you on a more mellow trail. In addition to a vault toilet at the trailhead, there is a picnic bench at the start of the trail, a perfect place to grab lunch or a snack after visiting the falls.
Directions
Parking
Trip Reports
Our weekend in Stehekin was quite busy, but we found some time to visit Rainbow Falls before our dinner at Stehekin Valley Ranch. Our cabin that we rented was only a little over a mile away from the falls, but we were short on time and opted to drive to the trailhead. There were no other cars at the trailhead, and we were the only people viewing the falls; however we did encounter one other hiker on our way down.
It looked like there was a trail coming in from the road, not sure if that's where you get dropped off from the shuttle. Anyways, we started walking on the gravel path and made our way past a nice bench, which would be the perfect spot to grab lunch (the Stehekin Pastry Company isn't far away...).
Within a couple hundred yards the trail splits, with the right going to the base of the falls, and the left section heading up towards a high vantage point. We headed right and quickly reached the end of the trail, with a nice view of the lower cascade. You are able to see the rest of the waterfall above, but it's not nearly as good a view as the upper vantage point.
After viewing the lower section, we headed up to the loop for the upper section, going right up a series of steeper steps as the trail made its way towards the falls. It is a fairly short section, and within a couple hundred yards the forest opened up and you could start to see the falls.
We reached the end of the trail and snapped some photos of the falls. There wasn't a ton of water coming down given it's late in the summer, but the falls were impressive. There were even some wildflowers still in bloom off to the side, likely a result of the mist coming out of the pool at the bottom of the falls.
On the way down we stayed right and took the most gradual trail instead of the steps. It was a nice quick visit to Rainbow Falls. Not much of a hike, but you get a little exercise going up, and it's certainly a scenic waterfall. Worth a visit if you are in Stehekin.
