Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Coal Creek Falls
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Snoqualmie Region,
by Dan A. Nelson and Alan L. Bauer.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. From the trailhead, head up toward Red Town. The route you want veers left onto Cave Hole Trail. Once upon a time, mules pulled wagonloads of coal down this trace, and later, as the coal veins played out, folks used it as an access route to another easily accessible fuel source: firewood. Today's trail uses that same old track. As you climb away from the old Red Town site, you'll notice areas where the ground seems to have slumped in on itself--these are the cave holes that give the trail its name. The holes formed when miners pushed their underground extractions too close to the surface, leaving a void that eventually caved in, creating a "cave hole" in the ground above. Less than 1 mile after leaving the trailhead, you'll find the Coal Creek Falls Trail leading off to the right. The path meanders around the upper slopes of Curious Valley before slanting down into a small gulch carved by the tumbling waters of Coal Creek. Here, about 1.25 miles out, you'll find the falls. Coal Creek Falls can be spectacular during the rainy season of January-March, thundering down the rocky chute. Venture out during a particularly cold spell and you'll find marvelous ice sculptures formed by the splashing and spray from the falls. By midsummer, the falls usually shrinks to nothing more than a small splattering of dribbling streams between the rocks.
Driving Directions:
From I-90 take exit 13 onto Lakemont Boulevard. Drive south on Lakemont Boulevard, which becomes Newcastle-Coal Creek Road. After crossing "The Pass" and starting down, cross Coal Creek and find the trailhead on the east side of the road at a sharp bend in Newcastle-Coal Creek Road. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Water on trail
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This was a quick outing in Cougar Mt. Park, about 3 miles in length with a fair number of mud/water...
This was a quick outing in Cougar Mt. Park, about 3 miles in length with a fair number of mud/water holes and blowdowns on the trail. With all of this the trip took about 1 hour to complete with some stops for dogs [dog owners, if your dogs do not like seeing strange people, keep them on a leash] on the trail and photos (this is the quickest I have walked this trail).
There is still some snow in the area I hiked but only one patch on the trail (Nike Horse Trail). There were several downed trees on the Quarry Trail including one that horses can not pass (a duck under and step over maneuver). The other blow downs were not as bad and there was evidence of horses getting over these as well as deer tracks in some of the muddy areas. Coal creek was running high and fast and the falls were as full of water as I have ever seen them. Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Water on trail
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Our route today from Red Town Trailhead included the Coal Creek Falls trail to the Quarry Trail. We then doubled...
Our route today from Red Town Trailhead included the Coal Creek Falls trail to the Quarry Trail. We then doubled back along the Shy Bear Trail to the Far Country Lookout, then returned to the trailhead via the Indian and Red Town Trails. All of the trails are in great shape right now. There were only a couple of blowdowns along the route and not even a lot of standing water despite the recent rains. Coal Creek Falls and Far Country Falls are not yet flowing where they typically are this time of year, which is not surprising given the recent dry spell during the first part of the month. It was evident that there had been some recent drainage work done on the Far Country Trail (maybe WTA?).
This route is a moderate route with some mild ups and downs throughout. I estimate the total distance is about five miles and we were able to complete this route in about 4 hours total including stops for lunch and pictures. There weren't very many people out on this rainy afternoon.
Nike Horse Trail, Cave Hole, Coal Creek Falls, Quarry, Marshall's Hill, Wildside Trail-De Leo Wall, Far Country, Shy Bear, Fred's Railroad, By Pass Trial, Old Man Trail
— Aug 28, 2011
— Alpine Art
Day hike
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This is a loop series of trails about 7 miles long with about 1300 to 1500 feet of elevation gain/loss...
This is a loop series of trails about 7 miles long with about 1300 to 1500 feet of elevation gain/loss over a series of ups and downs.
My first destination was Coal Creek Falls from the Sky Country Trail Head. The route to the falls had lots of folks with dogs and is a nice down hill walk for the most part. Not much water in Coal Creek and the falls were silent to my ears. Trees are leafy and grass is very high after a cool wet summer so not much in the way of views on any of the trails. From the falls I headed to De Leo Wall via the Marshall Hill trail, on parts of the trail you could see a sharp drop off but no real views due to foliage. All the trails are in good shape with no mud. As most of my hiking in the area has been in fall/winter/spring this was a welcome change. I passed Far Country falls but again could not see or hear the falls from the trail. The rest of the walk was a nice amble through a shady green forest. Weather the last two Sunday's has been muggy and warm so I am glad I took extra water with me. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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This loop of trails made 5 miles. The trails are in great shape - a bit of mud here...
This loop of trails made 5 miles. The trails are in great shape - a bit of mud here and there, but easy to get around. Coal Creek Falls was full of water. Lots of Bleeding Hearts along the trail as well as other flowers I don't know the names of.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Mudholes | Water on trail
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This was my first time doing this hike. We went there intending to go to De Leo Wall but the...
This was my first time doing this hike. We went there intending to go to De Leo Wall but the web of trails was just too confusing for us. So i grabbed the map and decided i wanted to Coal Creek Falls. When we decided on our route we made our way. It was raining for the most the day but in let up for me and my fellow hikers. Coal Creek falls was a sight to see and it made the trip worth it. I plan to do this hike again on a nicer day.
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Coal Creek Falls. Photo by "Whitebark."
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coal creek falls 01/13/10