Trip Reports

Hadn't seen this hike in any of my guidebooks. Russ, Brooklake Hikers group leader, knew of this beaut, having done it previously. Nine of us in Brooklake group set out on a perfect Saturday. A couple of waterfalls are reached within first mile. Cliffs remain wet most of year and, I'm told, spectacular ice forms in winter when waterfalls freeze up. A series of steep wooden stairs are reached soon after. Most of this hike is in the forest which was welcome on this day in which it was to reach the low 90's in lowlands. We pointed out to Russ that the vine maple is fully leafed out now. A first viewpoint is reached in about the first 1.5 miles or so. Wildflowers starting to come out. It looks like there is little snow left on Suntop to the west. Woody, Goober Canari, and I broke from group and continued to the next viewpoint, listed on the trailhead sign as the northern viewpoint. The very tip top of Mt. Rainier can be seen from here, also many multicolored wildflowers. Signage stated this viewpoint is 3 miles from trailhead but I would guess is closer to 4. Took lunch here and enjoyed the views beyond & below. Continued on the trail to the southern viewpoint. One clearcut is passed thru en route. Soon after dipping down to cross a creek the trail heads back up and to the southern viewpoint. More of Mt. Rainier can been seen from this viewpoint which is at about 4,200 feet elevation. According to signage, this viewpoint is supposed to be 5 miles from the trailhead, but it did not seem far from the northern viewpoint. I also believe I could see Noble Knob further to the south. An airstrip also noted near Hwy 410. No snow encountered on trail. We met back up with the group at the northen viewpoint. On the way back, we made multiple stops at streams, and following Woody's lead, cooled ourselves off with cold fresh stream water, ahhhhhh. Back to the cars to rest our tired puppies and wait for the rest of the group. A nice 10-11 miles round trip, not too steep, that can be expanded as the trail continues to Ranger Creek, etc. I highly recommend this one, especially earlier in the seaon when higher elevation trails may still be snowbound. Also no bugs (yet) to speak of. Yeah!

First time I had hiked this trail. We started from parking area just south of Camp Shepherd. Beginning of trail poorly signed. Lovely forest hike with some grand old cedar and Douglas firs. Rock slide obscures trail on both the south and north side of the falls necessitating a bit of a scramble. Falls is spectacular and nice views of the still snow-capped ridges to the west.

6-15-08 Boulder Caves & Snoquera Falls

After reading bloated chipmunk’s trip report from nwhikers.net I had to do both of these hikes back to back. Sunday was supposed to be the best day and it was! Great weather, we so needed this to lift spirits. Annie and I left my house 7 am (federal way area) and got home at 3 am.

Caves were way cool, something different and not to far away. Chinook pass is melting fast, I would guess in 2-3 weeks Lake Tipso will be scene. The nice campground hosts were so sweet and talked to us for quite a while. What a cool job it would be for 5 months to meet different people and collect $5, they had quite the RV set up, look more like a house. We hiked over some big boulders and went to the waterfall and then into the cave, which was a little scarey at first and we didn’t know we could walk all the way through but soon found out. Only saw a few people here and there. Then it was off to the falls. I wasn’t exactly sure where the trailhead was so we stopped at the info booth and talked to Abby, she is way cool and has seen me before. She told us to go to camp Shepard and park there. Trail was all good till slid area, we went up a bit and then started sliding and I got out of my comfort circle and we went back down. Got a semi-good shot of waterfall but if only I could get closer and down lower.. maybe after the trail work on 5/19.

Great day to be out! I hope bloated chipmunk doesn’t mind I copied two of her 3 hikes.

We started out at the trailhead on Highway 410, 1/4 mile east of the SKookum Falls overlook.

The trail goes steeply up on a good grade past a beautiful waterfall, up some stairs to the top

of the falls then into forest with a couple of loops out onto the Palisades to view the White

River valley and across to Suntop.LO Then across a clearcut, back into the woods to cross

Snoquera Creek-Snow patches from here on-probably will melt in 2 weeks- ice axe not needed but poles helpful! Then up to glorious views from the higher Palisades across to

Mt Rainier. After traversing the ridge-through patchy snow we came to a shelter and

junction with Ranger Creek trail. The trip down the gully with a little stream and larger

snow patches was a little harder. Just as we were about to run out of the snow patches we

encountered a large blowdown which was passable but required a little negotiation to

figure out the trail. There were other small step across blowdowns before. From there on,

down Ranger Creek Trail and across the White River Trail was easy walking. Except for the

time we went through the Camp Sheppard area on the White River Trail,

we encountered only 2 people, one a polite mountain biker,

. A great day 15.8 miles

and about 2900 gain.

We have visited Snoquera several times the last few years. In January 2008, just prior to one of the major snowstorms, we observed a huge rockfall had taken place. The fellas at the boyscout camp told us it happened in Nov. 2007, and they could hear the rumbling for over a minute. We saw bowling ball sized chucks of 'blue ice'. Literally, sky blue colored pieces of ice. I later learned that this can only form under conditions of extreme pressure. Went back to confirm what we saw. The trail at the top was wiped out, all the brush was gone, the trees nearest the bottom of the cliff have been physically stripped of all their branches, there are gravel piles heaped along the uphill side of existing trees, and there are scars on existing trees as much as 40 feet up their trunks. We also noticed much forest floor detritus mixed in the very loose rubble. This must have come from above. Also a large portion of the rock face is missing its moss and lichen ""coating"". I approached the top of the new rock pile, and there were small bits of gravel landing around me. USE CAUTION ON THIS NEW SLOPE UNTIL IT STABILIZES.

Snoquera Falls is a favorite winter destination of mine so a friend and I decided to snowshoe up the trail with his dog. We ended up carrying our snowshoes the whole way since there was barely a few inches at the top. The weather was cool but above freezing when we started but grew colder as the day progressed.

Rounding the last bend before Snoquera Creek (3210 ft elevation), we found that the last several hundred feet of trail have been obliterated by a major rock avalanche that appears to have originated far up on the cliffs just south of the falls. Most of the trees in this area have been wiped out and the few large, old trees that are still standing near the cliff have been almost completely stripped of limbs. The talus that now covers the trail and surrounding area is very unstable and, in combination with a thin layer of snow was difficult to traverse. This, combined with the possibility of more unstable rock above, convinced us to turn around and explore the lower trails instead. This area of severe trail damage will require some serious work parties to repair. I suspect this event occurred during the previous week or two and may have been triggered by the heavy rain.

It's sad to see a favorite trail in this condition but undoubtedly there will be plenty of opportunities to help repair it in work parties this summer.

~

I knew that the falls themselves wouldn’t be spectacular at this time of year, but needed to get out for a short scenic hike. (there was even some fall color left)

We opted for taking the Buck Creek Trail up to the Snoquera Falls Trail.

It was quite cold at the bottom of the trial (right off of Hwy 410) so we didn’t stop for a lot of pictures until the return trip.

The lower portion of the trail was filled with all sorts of interesting mushrooms and fungi (which I did photograph on the way back.

We got up to the falls just before noon, and even though the air was crisp and cold, the sun warmed rocks were a fabulous place for lunch.

The last stretch up to the base of the falls is a scramble and appears to be best done on the left side of the falls.

The falls themselves were just trickling, but this trip is worth it for the views of the rock formations and across the valley.

As I was photographing the falls, I had huge sloshy bunches of ice balls pummel me from above (likey frozen spray thawing and breaking loose as the sun warmed the rocks). Some of the ice balls were pretty big, (and hurt) so I decided to back away before I ended up with a concussion.

The trail is in excellent condition and a good time was had by all.

More picture are available here:

http://www.wildcelticrose.net/lisasplace/snoquerafalls07.html

~L

This was a good-news, bad-news sort of hike. The bad news was that though the Forest Service said ""there's water in the falls"", I think the full story now is ""not much"". There were only a couple of spots (one off-trail) from which I could see any falls at all. The good news was that I had waited long enough in the year for all of the blow-downs reported earlier to have been cleared off, so on the south side of the loop there was nothing between the trailhead and the falls, and crossing the creek was easy. The only blow-down I encountered was just on the far side of the creek, and it was simple to walk under it. I went as far as where the cairns mark a passage across the slide, but not liking the looks of it (being alone, and with dogs, and slipping could send me a long way down) I turned back.

Starflowers (both northern and broad-leaved) were out in force. There were several patches of coralroot.

Unlike the previous report, I did start from Camp Sheppard. To find the trail, I started from the trail at the back of the parking lot and basically kept to a rule of staying straight ahead every time I reached a junction until I spotted a sign that actually said ""Snoquera Falls"". On the way back, I did not go directly back to Camp Sheppard but rather at the first junction down continued straight onward to make a mini-loop using the White River trail; this section of the falls trail *did* have blow-downs.

I did the Dalles Ridge Trail and Ranger Creek trails as a part of a Mountaineers mid-week hike. We set up a car shuttle to avoid a four mile valley floor slog back to the Dalles Ridge trailhead. Even with the car shuttle, this is a strenuous 11 mile hike.

The west end of the Dalles Ridge Trail, where it climbs the steep canyon of Dalles Creek, is in fine shape, and a great example of trail engineering in difficult terrain. Dalles Creek Falls still has a good flow of water. The trail remains in good shape atop the Snoquera Palisades, but there are numerous blowdowns on the higher part of the ridgetop. When I hiked the trail, clouds obstructed the normally spectacular views here; on a clear day the views of Mt Rainier are glorious. Although the trail tops 5000 feet at its highest point, there is no snow left anywhere on the trail all the way to the Ranger Creek Trail junction.

Where the Dalles Ridge Trail meets the Ranger Creek Trail is a shelter that is in good condition. A pocket meadow and spring-fed creek grace the charming environs of the shelter.

The upper part of the Ranger Creek Trail is in o.k. shape, but there are many stretches of slumped trail and numerous blowdowns. The lower portion of the trail is in good shape, although excessively gentle grading may frustrate athletic hikers and certainly invites switchback cutting. This trail is almost as bad this way as the Lena Lake Trail.

The open forest of massive douglas firs that the trail passes through is magnificent.

The Dalles Ridge Trail to the top of the Snoquera Palisades is one of the finest late spring hikes there is; highly recommended!

I printed out trail info for Snoq Falls from the Mt Baker Snoqualmie Natl Forest website and found it tricky to find the actual trailhead using their info. Below is a tip for more clarity. (Note: A couple years ago we attempted to find the trailhead via the Camp Sheppard lot. We finally stumbled onto it, but the boy scouts could sure improve on the trail markings here; there are a lot of unmarked trails in the Camp Sheppard area).

This report takes you to Snoquera Falls Trail via Buck Creek Trail #1169. Traveling SR 410 south, look for the Camp Sheppard sign on the left, between MP 52 and 53. At 0.2 miles past the camp sign, pull into a dirt ""driveway"" on left (east) side, just before MP 53. Walk ~100 paces south on a fairly wide dirt path, parallel to SR410. Find a small eye-level sign ""Trail 1169"", Buck Creek on your left. Follow #1169 NE for 0.3 mile to connect to Snoquera Falls Trail #1167. From there, the trail to the falls is pretty well marked.

A beautiful early season hike, as pointed out in the Seattle PI last Thursday. A neat side trip for the experienced, sure-footed hiker is to take a short but steep scramble up the side of the falls to get a better view. The trail leads off from the north side of the falls and climbs steeply. Vines provide reasonable hand-holds.

Friend and I were a little concerned as we headed up 410 out of Enumclaw on Saturday morning. It wasn't the rain that bothered us - it was the half dozen sheriff's Suburbans we saw along the road. We got to the parking lot at Camp Sheppard, and a Pierce County sheriff in a blue jumpsuit walked past us. I was a little more concerned when a Department of Corrections van pulled up to the gate of the campground. I asked the sheriff if they were looking for someone. He laughed and told me that there was a huge SAR conference going on at Crystal Mountain.

Thus feeling a little more sure that we'd be found if we got lost, friend and I headed up the trail. The trail is clear and snow-free all the way up. There were a half dozen trees across the trails, but the two of us managed to get over or under them with only a minor amount of clumsiness. The falls were spectacular, with enough water to really show off the large drop and the bridal veil, but not enough to keep us from crossing the creek below the falls. No muddy spots, no snow.

A deserted parking lot at Camp Shepard was a surprise at 11:30 on Mothers Day. We thought a short trip to Snoquerra Falls would be just the thing. We headed north out of the parking lot to the amphitheater, turned right and took the left (less developed trail) to go towards the falls, thinking we would check out the nature trail (right path)on the way back. Work has been on-going on this trail, the blow downs increase as you go up. Nothing Maisie couldn’t leap up on or trot under, her humans managed with a few grunts. Lovely wildflowers, the last of the trillium at the start, many orchids along the trail through the woods, and chocolate lilies??? – those green and brown bell-shaped ones - near the waterfall. More varieties looked to be ready to burst open at any time. Trails are a little confusing, follow the signs to Snoquera Falls. We forded the stream below the falls and scrambled up along the old water pipe to the plunge pool on the left side looking upstream. Lots of spray and volume. Definitely cool. We decided not to do the loop because we remembered the ugliness of transecting the rock slide west of the falls a few years ago. Instead we branched onto bits of the White River Trail and Buck Creek Trail to lengthen our loop back. We were aiming for the nature trail near Camp Shepard but somehow ended up on Hwy 410 instead. Quite a few more pooches in the parking lot when we returned. We spoke to some people who did do the loop and found it passable with a small child and 2 dogs.

Snow flakes were starting to fall as I pulled into the empty parking lot for the Snoquera trailhead in Camp Sheppard. The trail started out in good shape and was free of snow however it was pretty confusing where the Snoquera trail left the Boy Scout trails. The trail only gains about 400 feet from the trailhead to the falls but there was surprisingly a lot more snow near the falls. There were also more blown down trees near the falls. The obstacles were worth overcoming though as the falls looked magnificent. I continued on past the falls hoping to complete the loop counter-clockwise. My plan of completing a loop was put to an end soon after the falls where the trail disappeared under a landslide. With no visible safe way around it, this may be the trail’s end. I headed back the way I came but decided to take the trail to the Skookum Flats instead of returning to Camp Sheppard. At the road the sign said the bridge was out but I had to see for myself. Sure enough, there’s not much left of it, just a few cables with dangling planks. There is a fallen tree which one could cross on but I decided to save that butt scoot for another day.

A fantastic sunny day (finally) for a quick hike before entertaining quests tonight.



Trail starts at Camp Sheppard and winds uphill for one and a half miles to the falls. A massive amount of water flowing, as we expected. There were 3 trees over the trail, one you could step over, probably 12in. diameter, another larger, that you had to crawl under and a 3rd that could be passed by going below.

The stream crossing under the falls was a little iffy. It was split into 3 sections and the exposed rocks had about an inch of ice on them. Slow going but doable. Lots of small branches on the trail that we cleared as we walked.

After the falls the trail was in fairly good shape for about a half mile then it was completely washed out. The first of three such areas. Found the trail below after a lot of slipping and sliding and hanging on branches. The second area was before a talus slope and we would have lost the trail completely if some kind soul hadn't placed a small cairn across the way that we finally spotted. There was one other iffy place,when crossing large boulders.

The rest of the trail had minor blowdown and was through beautiful forest with moss covered logs and rocks the rest of the way back to Camp Sheppard. About 4-41/2 miles total.

Our group of six, Sue, Val Ann, Joleen, Sally and myself, plus Tiffiny the West Highland Terrier met at the Enumclaw Ranger Station to car pool up to the trailhead for the Snoquera Palisades Viewpoint trail. The trailhead is about 1/2 mile north of Camp Sheppard with parking in a wide spot along the east side of Highway 410. After we got our boots on and were getting ready to go, a group of students from Thunder Mtn. Middle School showed up for their hike up to the first (north) viewpoint. There were 115 students, plus teachers and parents! They went zooming up the trail except for some of the adults who could not keep up. There are a couple of nice waterfalls to see on The Dalles Creek. Before getting to the upper falls there is a set of stairs to ascend. There are cedar slabs spiked to a log that has steps cut into it. After getting by the first viewpoint, we had the trail to ourselves as the students turned around and headed back down. We got to the second viewpoint at 3,300' under sunny skies and a view down to the White River. After eatting lunch and lounging around for an hour, we started the trip back down. Four mtn. bikers rode past and were out of sight in a flash as they sped down the trail. We saw a few hikers heading up as were hiking out. Some wildflowers were out and a couple of hawks flew around over us as we were eatting lunch. Another nice day in the mountains.

The trail to the top of the Snoquera Palisades is free of snow and in fine condition, except for a few small blowdowns. The spectacular waterfall located midway up the ascent is running strongly. I made it as far as the second vista point at 4500', but did not linger long as a rain squall swept in soon after I arrived. This is a great early season hike, highly recommended.

I used the Camp Sheppard trailhead, which requires a NW Forest Pass. I believe that hikers are not supposed to walk through the camp, but finding the trail the bypasses the camp is difficult. Better signage is needed to guide hikers from the parking lot to the bypass trail, which skirts the camp area on the hillside above.

Finding the trail was a little confusing. Go through the boy scout camp for easier trailhead access. Lots of calypso orchids, indian paintbrushes, a few morels and ceps, garter snakes and a female elk were the fauna and flora highlights of this hike. The waterfall is beautiful. It's a vigorous 100 yards hiking up from the trail to the falls. There are a couple of rockslides on the trail; one of them is somewhat dangerous and makes the trail difficult to follow. Don't slip because you'll go all the way down... The rockslide can be avoided by doing the first half of the loop counter-clockwise and then retracing one's footsteps after reaching the falls. There was a little bit of blow-down but nothing serious. This hike is a rewarding one for the sure-footed.

The trail to Snoquera Palisades begins at the west end of a small dirt pullout along Hwy 410, about a mile west of Camp Sheppard. At .2 mile, there is a junction with the trail coming from Camp Sheppard, 1 mile east. From there, the trail climbs steeply with many switchbacks and steps up a very steep hillside. Before reaching the steps, there is a side trail to the bottom of Snoquera Falls, cascading over rock cliffs. Another falls can be seen through the trees. After climbing about 1200', the trail becomes more level and an overlook is reached. A second overlook is 1 1/2 miles further. There wasn't a view of Mt. Rainier, but we saw several calypso orchids along the swithbacks and some beautiful red paintbrush at the second overlook. Pensteman was just starting to bloom. We talked to two men who were geocashing at the first overlook. We had lunch at the second overlook, then returned the way we had come. The trail continues on and joins the Ranger Creek trail to return to Hwy 410. The boy scouts built and maintain this trail and it was in good condition. In fact, it looked as though they had been working on it while we were up above. There were 2 or 3 logs to step over and 1 to get under, but other than that, the trail was clear.

Using previous trip reports for the area and the “Best Hikes with dogs in Western Washington” book, my pup and I were able to navigate our way around the maze of trails to the falls. Good hike to practice our trail skills together on. I highly recommend this one with your pup.

She and I managed up and over (& sometimes under) the few blowdowns on the ascent. Previous trip reports suggested that the boulder fields may be a challenge but my giant pup handled them with surprising agility. She was having so much fun scrambling the trail that she didn’t even notice the snakes I shooed back under the boulders.

The falls are running beautifully right now. We both enjoyed the cool spray coming from them. Add to that the warm weather, and it almost felt like I was back under a secret Kauai waterfall.

We did just as well on the scramble down as we’d done going up. So many trails to meander along here! The trip was just long enough to poop her out for the evening and part of the next day but she was back to full tilt boogie by Tuesday morning.

The road and trails were still quiet up there by Rainier since Chinook Pass was closed and Cayuse had just opened (Papa said they made for great bike climbs that day).

We had a couple of doggies who needed a romp, so we went to the new Best Hikes With Dogs book and figured Snoquera Falls would be a good early-season hike. We parked at the nice parking lot at the trailhead by the Camp Shepard Boy Scout camp. I have many memories of that place due to the several years I was involved with my sons' troop. You head up a very nicely built trail a few hundred yards to the camp's campfire program area. The direct route is to go straight, but I recommend going right and taking the little nature loop on a very good trail. It winds up right back at the campfire area in about a quarter mile. You then go right on a not-so-fancy trail, up a bit to a junction with the White River trail.

The route to the falls is a bit to the right, going up. There is another junction in a quarter mile, and there you switchback left. The trail is in good condition for the 1.5 miles going up to the falls, with perhaps one large blowdown to get around. This time of year the falls are at their best, with plenty of water dropping over 200' from the palisades above.

If you do not like rough scrambling, then you should turn around and return the way you came. We went forward and found that in a few hundred yards the trail totally disappeared under an apparent major rockslide. It must be at a point where there used to be some switchbacks, for our view of the topography indicated that the trail had to go down. We and the doggies carefully scrambled down the loose rock for about 100', angling to the West. We did find the trail again, although it is in very poor condition for the next half mile, with numerous large blowdowns.

Eventually, the trail did improve and we worked our way down back to the White River trail, three miles after we last passed it. We turned right then and headed for Dalles Falls. The trails to the falls are in good condition, except that the bridge over Dalles Creek is gone, but some sturdy planks have been strategically placed and the crossing was easily accomplished by both two and four-footed hikers. Dalles Falls was also in peak form. It has more water than Snoquera, and fans out in a lovely shape bordered by green.

The two mile return to the car by way of the White River Trail was quickly accomplished, making it a nice little trip of between five and six miles.

Took some Aussie friends out for a hike to show them the NW, so Snoquera seemed like a good place to start on a hot day. Started from parking lot at Camp Sheppard and headed into the cool woods. A little confusion at the scout campfire area, but memory served me correct and we headed uphill on the old dozer road to the junction. Once on the trail they were wowed by the flora: trilliums, columbine, indian paintbrush, just to name a few. Continued up the hill to the crossing over Snoquera Creek-- falls just above us. About 100 ft beyond creek is a very steep trail up to the falls. Had lunch at the falls kids dipped their feet in the cool water, then packed up for trip down. Decided to make entire loop, so we headed NW from the falls. IMPORTANT NOTE: if you don't like heights, or have small children, going this way is probably not a good idea. Trail cuts through numerous talus slopes, hopping boulders. Lost trail at a switchback and had to negotiate a very bad slope to find it. Finally back on trail, the hike down to valley was easy. Linked into White River trail and headed back towards cars via Camp Sheppard after a wonderful day. Beautiful falls, didn't rain, only saw one other person--what could be better

A nice early-season hike is up to the Snoquera Palisades, above the Camp Shepard Boy Scout Camp on Route 410. There is a nice new parking lot at the trailhead near milepost 53. The trails can be a little confusing leaving the parking lot. You stay left at the Boy Scout amphitheater and go left again on the White River trail, #1199, and go on past the Boy Scout camp. Keep going west past the junction with the Snoquera Falls trail and in about a mile and a half from the trailhead, go right toward the Palisades. The sign says that there are overlooks in 3 and 5 miles.

Soon there is a creek crossing, where the bridge washed out a couple of years ago. There are some timbers that have been thrown in among the boulders, but the crossing can be tricky in high water. After the creek, the trail switchbacks up to a very spectacular falls, which is not named on the map. Also notable were the calypsos orchids along the trail. A wonderful staircase climbs the wall next to the falls, and after a few more switchbacks, the trail moderates through forest. About two and a half miles from the trailhead is a first overlook above the White River valley and in another mile and a half is a second overlook. This is actually the first one mentioned in the tail sign down at the bottom. This is where our group stopped for lunch and then turned around.

The trail does continue, and a loop can be made by linking up with the Ranger Creek trail, for a total hike of 14 or 15 miles. There were only a few spots of snow near the overlook where we had lunch, but there is probably more snow further along the ridge right now.

A very peaceful drive out lonely highway 410 took me to Camp Sheppard and a series of hikes this fine day. The trek up to Snoquera Falls was excellent. The total lack of signs at all of the lower trail intersections made it even more fun...stay left at the camp fire circle and head uphill. There were a couple of fresh blowdowns across the trail but nothing to fret over.

The hike up to the falls goes entirely through lush forest with a completely mossy groundcover in most areas. Stunning! This led me to start paying close attention to the elusive calypso orchid that I've wanted to get quality images of. Once I thought this to myself, the first of numerous herds of calypsos pranced across the trail! They were frisky critters this fine day, not wanting to stand still in the gusting winds of the morning. But patience endured, and they finally became used to my presence and calmed down so that I could photograph them. One particular herd of about 4-5 individuals were especially wonderful to shot at, as they pranced through a diffused light spot on the forest floor, standing tall above the towering moss covering the ground. Life was very good.... All along the forest floor is covered with vanilla leaf as well--some of the thickest populations of it I've ever seen. It should be blooming in another week or two. The upper trail passed through more open, rocky forest as it approached the cliffs above, and suddenly I could hear the water and I was there. Snoquera Falls is spectacular right now, and the wind made for a good drenching misty adventure nearing it. Cross the creek posed no problem for me since the boots are happy to handle walking in 4-5 inches of water. Once across a sidetrail UP took me to the base of the falls, and the half hour I spent here was splendid.

After soaking myself and my camera gear up, I headed back down and enjoyed more photography of the creek and falls, then headed back down. A half mile before getting back to the trailhead, I opted for a 2-3 mile trek up the White River trail #1199, which was equally beautiful of a forest to wander through. Some great mushy areas of skunk cabbage and other goodies dotted the trailside. This makes for very pleasent extra miles to wander, since the trek to Snoquera Falls is only 1.5 miles from the trailhead. Grand spring romp!

THIS WAS A NICE LITTLE MID-WEEK BREAK FOR US. THE 1/4 MILE NATURE TRAIL HAD A LG. BLOW-DOWN AND SOME ICY SPOTS, BUT THE TRAIL UP TO THE FALLS WAS IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE. THERE WAS ONLY 1 BLOW-DOWN THAT WAS EASY TO STEP AROUND AND A FEW LITTLE PATCHES OF SNOW OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE TRAIL. RIGHT AT THE BASE OF THE FALLS THERE IS A LITTLE HARD-PACKED SNOW. NOT MUCH SHOW TO THE WATERFALL, MORE LIKE A TRICKLE. THE TRAIL WAS DRY AND MADE FOR A NICE AFTERNOON. NOBODY ELSE ON THE TRAIL. SAW SOME ELK SCAT BUT NO ANIMALS OTHER THAN A CHIPMUNK AND SOME BIRDS.

Some blow-downs along the trail, none difficult to get around. The falls are currently running at full strength. I have heard that repairs to the trail to complete the long-missing loop are in progress, although I didn't see any evidence of it at the falls. In any event, getting across the creek where the falls are would surely be a tricky business at this time of year.

This is a fun little hike to do with the kids. About a mile and a half in length, it begins at the Camp Sheppard parking area off of 410 about 11 miles south of Greenwater. There is a slightly confusing intersection just beyond the camp fire circle, but if you stay on the trail that goes up, you can't go wrong. In 1/2 mile from the car, is an intersection, go left, signed ""Snoquera Falls 1 mile"". After a mile(seems less), the falls begin to come into view. Go now! In the summer there is not much to see, but in spring, it's quite impressive. If you follow the trail through the creek below the falls, there is a steep, but easy and fun for kids, trail up to the base of the falls, which spill off of spectacular, overhanging cliffs. The trail beyond here has been blocked for about 10 years due to a slide, but signs indicate that the Scouts are busy repairing it. Had no time to explore this day. It looks as though all the snow had melted off this trail a couple of weeks ago, but there was a little fresh stuff, just enough for some snowball fights with the kids.