Bridal Veil Falls
The trail starts off very mild, following a series of abandoned roads for about ½ to ¾ of the way. While the forest is nice, the lower trail isn’t much to speak about. It is however, level, and easy.
Eventually, the trail drops off the old logging road and heads down into the creek valley. Here it a more traditional trail. For a second growth forest, the path is quite dark and cool. Notice the logging scars of stump remnants with the notches cut in the sides of them. At the junction, take the short ½ mile side trail to a view point directly below the upper Bridal Veil Falls. You will be impressed. Return the way you came. This trail is great for kids.
Driving Directions:
To get to the trailhead, travel east on Highway 2 (paved) from Monroe, WA. At milepost 35.2, about 21 miles east of Monroe, turn right onto Mount Index Road (Forest Road 6020 - gravel). Travel 0.3 mile on Forest Road 6020 and branch right onto Forest Road 6020-109 (gravel). The trailhead parking is just ahead. The junction is signed. Forest roads 6020 and 6020-109 are both passable to any passenger vehicle. A Northwest Forest Pass is required to park at the trailhead. There are two outhouses in the parking area, elevation: 600 feet. Recent Trip Reports
Hiked here recently?
Submit a trip report!
There are
32
trip reports for this hike.
See all trip reports for this hike.
Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Bridge out | Water on trail | Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
The parking lot was plowed in the past, so there is a berm around the circle making parking difficult. Good...
The parking lot was plowed in the past, so there is a berm around the circle making parking difficult. Good thing there were only a couple of cars. There was about 4 inches of slush on the ground. The trail is snow covered from the start. There are multiple branches and small trees down. The bridge at about the 1/2 mile mark has been damaged by a tree fall. There are a couple logs across the stream that are large enough to cross on, however we decided to turn back and leave it for another time...
Day hike
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
A perfect morning destination when everything is under snow - even in the lowlands. The road is plowed virtually...
A perfect morning destination when everything is under snow - even in the lowlands. The road is plowed virtually to your trailhead, and an otherwise plain section of trail is transformed by winter's magic.
Someone had recently pulled a sled in, making a nice track to the falls. The only difficulty is in ducking under the snow-laden branches. Most of the creek crossings were easy to step over. Day hike
Issues:
Mudholes | Water on trail | Snow on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
Without rain and much cloud cover, the day was pleasant for a winter hike. The first portion of the trail...
Without rain and much cloud cover, the day was pleasant for a winter hike. The first portion of the trail (leading up to the fork to Bridal Veil Falls) is in good condition, and muddy in a few places but manageable.
The trail to Bridal Veil Falls is in good condition and the falls are partially frozen. For the last half mile to Lake Serene, there is a light amount of snow and quite a bit of frozen puddles that make it easy to slip. Lake Serene was frozen over and blanketed in snow, and the surrounding cliffs were awesome and imposing. Of course there's ice and snow surrounding the lake as well, so be careful! Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Mudholes | Washouts | Water on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
with photos
The trail climbs gradually for most of the way to the falls. There are some parts that are steeper, but...
The trail climbs gradually for most of the way to the falls. There are some parts that are steeper, but overall it wasn't an exhausting climb, by any means. It's pretty well maintained, no overgrowth or blowdowns to deal with. But it's quite a rocky path and in the rain, slippery.
There are several streams that have to be crossed. The first one has a rickety looking bridge that was a little scary to cross over. Younger children may find it difficult. The other streams had rocks or tree limbs as "bridges". I use the term "bridges" pretty loosely here. One stream in particular was difficult to cross without getting your feet wet. If you have short legs, there really was no way to cross it without putting your feet into the water somewhere. The kids and I weren't able to cross without getting wet. There were also times when the trail was covered in water, like a little stream itself, which created several muddy spots. A 1/2 mile from the falls is a sign. Stay to the left to head to Lake Serene, go right to head to the falls. The kids and I made it to the wooden staircase which takes you on a steep climb up to the falls (you can see the falls from the bottom of the stairs). That's where they pooped out. Cold, wet, and crabby, they decided they weren't going any further. My husband climbed the stairs to the falls on his own. Unfortunately his camera decided not to work so he didn't get a picture of the falls. Overall this was a good hike but I don't recommend it for hikers with younger children. Even in good weather, I think it will be difficult for them. Older children should be fine. This hike was our 15th hike of the year. Back in July we made a goal of taking our family on 45 hikes in a year (July 2011-July 2012). We're 1/3 of the way there and I'm loving every minute of it! To see more about our hike visit http://1retromama.blogspot.[…]alls-1068-us-highway-2.html .
Bridal Veil Falls, Lake Serene - Bridal Veil Falls
— Oct 31, 2011
— felkadelic
Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Water on trail
Expand report text
Hide report text
Read full report
Got on the trail around 10:15, after having to double back to Gold Bar to purchase a forest pass. ...
Got on the trail around 10:15, after having to double back to Gold Bar to purchase a forest pass. Was the only car at the parking lot, although by the end of the hike there would be 7-8 other cars. The weather was mid- to upper-40s with a slight drizzle. Plan on dressing in layers, although if you're anything like me you'll shed most of them throughout the hike.
The first 1.5mi or so is a gradual incline through a forest. There are several creek crossings (one has a bridge that I felt somewhat uneasy on). The trail is somewhat rocky, so bring good shoes/boots. Also, there were some spots of standing water on the trail but nothing too bad. After that 1.5mi, you can choose to go left to Lake Serene or right to Bridal Veil falls. Short on time, I elected to just go up to the falls. The half mile up to the falls is considerably steeper than the beginning of the hike. There are a number of flights of stairs and several creek crossings on ledges. Some previous reports have mentioned feeling uneasy on ledges, but the exposure isn't really that great and it didn't bother me. After about a 400' climb you arrive at the falls. On this particular day, the water was really rushing and the falls were generating quite a bit of spray (which inhibited my ability to take photos). Even with a Gore-Tex parka, I started to get chilled so I didn't spent much time at the falls. As always, the trip down was much quicker than the trip up. I did pass about 5 groups of other hikers who were just heading up, but even still the trail never felt crowded. My total round-trip time was about 2h15m, which included a short break to shed layers on the way up to the falls. I did read a report of cars having been broken into at the parking lot, so please make sure that you hide (or better yet leave at home) any valuables. |
By Paul Randall.
|
Document Actions
- Email this page
- Print this
- Share
Forgot your
New user?
