Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Stevens Canyon Waterfalls
Featured In:
Day Hiking: Mount Rainier National Park Trails,
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. Find the trail on the south side of the parking area and descend through open forest for about 0.75 mile to reach a bridge over Stevens Creek near the first small waterfall of the journey. Just before crossing the bridge, you'll find a junction with the Wonderland Trail. Turn right and start up the gentle climb along the floor of the canyon. Lush, moss-laden forests surround you on this lower section of the canyon. At 1.5 miles, you reach Maple Creek Camp alongside the small tributary stream (yup, you guessed it: Maple Creek). A small waterfall crashes over a rocky ledge just above camp--a small boot track leads through the brushy forest to the cascade. The Wonderland Trail continues upcanyon from Maple Creek, and at around 2.5 miles, you pass a vantage point offering good views of Sylvia Falls on Stevens Creek. Just 1 mile above this, the trail angles steeply away from the main creek to cross Unicorn Creek just below Martha Falls. Stop and enjoy this largest of the route's falls before turning back the way you came.
Driving Directions:
From Enumclaw, drive east about 47 miles on State Route 410 to the junction with SR 123 at Cayuse Pass. Stay right (straight ahead) to merge onto SR 123-Cayuse Pass Highway. Drive south about 11.5 miles to the junction with the Stevens Canyon Road. Turn right (west) and pass through the Stevens Canyon Entrance to the park. About 10.5 miles from SR 123, park in the Box Canyon Picnic Area (about 0.5 mile west of Box Canyon). Recent Trip Reports
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trip reports for this hike.
Stevens Canyon segment of Wonderland Trail
— Jul 14, 2010
— EckartS
Day hike
Issues:
Mud/Rockslide
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The easiest place to park and enter this segment of the Wonderland Trail is between the lower tunnel and the...
The easiest place to park and enter this segment of the Wonderland Trail is between the lower tunnel and the Box Canyon picnic site. The trail descends 500 ft. and crosses Stevens Creek at a narrow canyon (not quite as deep as Box Canyon) on a sturdy bridge at 1.1 mi. At 2.2 mi. is the Maple Creek designated campsite. This section of the Wonderland Trail is not described in positive terms in the 50 Hikes in Mt. Rainier National Park hiking guide book, but we found it to be a delightful trail and contrary to what we expected after reading the book, we hardly heard any noise from the vehicles on the Stevens Canyon road above. As a matter of fact, there are only few places where you can even see the road. It is an impressive view to see from below how the road has been glued to the steep hillside in the area of the upper tunnel. Most of the trail is in the shade and on the north side of the Tatoosh Range, so this is a good trail for a hot day. Scenic points are Sylvia Falls (cannot quite see all of it from the trail) and Martha Falls. The trail is in good shape, except a critical point is a slide area where the trail has to be carved anew from the slide slope every spring and where many rocks hang lose above the trail, waiting to come rolling down. A short section of the trail is in the flood plain of Stevens Creek. The old bridge across Unicorn Creek is gone and the trail has been rerouted to a log crossing further upstream, immediately below one of the Martha Falls.
A good destination for this hike is Louise Lake, a short mile after crossing the Stevens Canyon road. The shoreline of Louise Lake is very fragile and could use some resource management with stepping stones and a sitting log to allow the wildflowers (marshmarigold) to flourish untrampled and to concentrate the hiker damage in one spot. We saw only one other hiking party on this trail. Elev. gain 2130 ft. in, 590 ft. on return trip. 13 mi. R.T. Allow 7 hours R.T.
Stevens Canyon Waterfalls
— Jun 27, 2010
— MachoMtMatt
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Mud/Rockslide | Water on trail | Snow on trail
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I actually hiked from Longmire past the Reflection Lakes into the Stevens canyon, but I'm focusing on Stevens Canyon in...
I actually hiked from Longmire past the Reflection Lakes into the Stevens canyon, but I'm focusing on Stevens Canyon in this report. I wrote about Longmire to Reflection lakes in another report.
From Reflection lake, I tried to follow the Wonderland trail through the snow between it and Louise lake, but found it very difficult, especially when you reach the crossing of Sunbeam creek. Could not find the actual bridge across, so rather than risk falling through, I hiked straight up the hill (steep! I had snow shoes on) and followed the road until it reached the bend that causes Louise lake to be out of view. I met back up with the trail there and found it patchy snow. Caution: the snow is weighing down some of the large bushes on the side of the trail and I almost lost my ability to have more children when one sprang out of the snow!!! Hiking down, I found many Avalanche lilies blooming along the sides of the trail. I crossed the road for the last time and headed toward Martha and Sylvia falls. The sign by the road warned of rough trail ahead. It is referring to a landslide that wiped out a portion of the trail after Martha falls and just before Sylvia falls. I ended up turning around at the landslide, but that is not to say it isn't passable. The trail crews have done a remarkable job at ensuring this section is still passable and you can hike right through the landslide. Caution is still advised though, as at one spot you could see that there was still plenty of water in the hill side. At Martha falls, where I ended up having lunch, was one of the nicest falls I've seen. The original bridge had been washed out, but trail crews had installed a new, more primitive log bridge a little closer to the falls. There isn't yet a rail for the bridge; just wire so be careful. After that, I headed back up to the lakes to continue back to Longmire where I then went up Rampart ridge to make a 22 mile day hike. Day hike
Issues:
Snow on trail
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with photos
Today was another amazing day on Tahoma (aka Mt Rainier) for myself, Don, Kay and Lesley
The forecast was for light...
Today was another amazing day on Tahoma (aka Mt Rainier) for myself, Don, Kay and Lesley |
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