Work was taking me down south, decided to stop & take a drive up the gorge in search of a hike. Had a few options, chose this one due to so so weather. To get to this trail, take left off of Highway 14 onto Wind River Road (signed to Carson) and thru the town of Carson. About 15 miles to past Carson Fish Hatchery & road forks. Go right to stay on Wind River Road which is also County Road 30. Turn right on FR 3062. There was a little snow at the turnoff from earlier plowing but no snow the rest of the way to the trailhead. Go right again for Lower Falls trail (Upper Falls trail is to the left). Only one other vehicle at trailhead.

Hike to falls is about 1.7 miles. There is a nice suspension bridge not too far in. Only patches of snow on the trail were in this area, but very small. Also only about 2 blowdowns; easily crossed. The trail goes along & above Falls Creek most of the way. Falls Creek is a torrent right now. I later passed 2 ladies coming down & they gave Falls Creek Falls a 5-star rating. Soon after I passed a trail junction to the Upper Trail. Not too far before the end there is a steel bridge back over Falls Creek. The falls are reached soon after. 100 foot high falls very impressive! This site had them on a best waterfall hikes a while back. On way back I hiked the connecting trail to the upper trail for a bit more workout. It is short but steep. I did not hike the Upper trail but returned back to the lower trail. No wildlife seen but I heard some pikas in a rocky crossing.

Good hike to check out if down in Columbia Gorge area.

Falls Creek Falls in autumn is an utterly enchanting trail. The fall colors are just coming into their full glory with vine and big leaf maples aflame with red and gold when the sunlight touches them, false Solomon's Seal and ferns adding their notes of yellow, orange, and rust, and mushrooms in every shade nestled in tree roots and hollows.

The road to the trailhead is easy to find and has only a few minor potholes (Prius was fine). After turning off paved Wind River Road onto gravel FS 3062 (there's a sign!!!), you encounter one fork - keep left onto unsigned 057 (right is 058). As of 10/5/11, the road to the Lower Falls Trail 152A is closed "for one month or until snowfall" so you must continue a short way to the large parking area for Falls Creek Falls Trail 152 at the end of the road on a small loop. It is 2.2 miles to the falls from here, and non-stop pretty the entire way.

The trail is very well maintained with a few erosion issues that are ok for now but will need work in the next couple of years. A bit of brushing wouldn't hurt (I wish I'd brought my loppers), but no real issues on this trail that obviously gets regular TLC from someone. Note that no stock are allowed after the small suspension bridge near the beginning of the hike.

Pictures are at: http://www.flickr.com/[…]/

My sister and I did this hike for her birthday, so we capped the day off with a mineral bath soak and wrap then a massage at Carson Mineral Hot Springs -- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are signs at the trailhead related to a pending timber sale/logging operation in this area, an area full of creeks and rivers vital to the animals (including us) and plants relying on this watershed and habitat. If you feel the urge to weigh in with the powers that be on your views about logging Falls Creek, you can contact the Gifford Pinchot NF folks online or at (360) 891-5000.

Since I floated the idea of a backpacking trip just the two of us, my daughter had been really excited about it. So the week after her fourth birthday we headed out for a quick 24-hour trip in the Gifford Pinchot. We chose Falls Creek the hour before we left after perusing the WTA site for recommendations. It didn't disappoint, with nice second-growth forests intermingled with some big trees and plenty of stretches along the creek itself, which is a noisy tumbling affair for all but the very beginning and very, very end.

The lower trail was fairly busy, which was understandable, because the main attraction is a pretty impressive waterfall (in a region with a lot of really impressive waterfalls). We admired them before retracing our steps to the "primitive" connector trail that leads steeply up to the Upper Falls Creek trail. Our only real complaining set in there (towards the end of the day too), which I appreciated the next day when we descended. It was sustained and steep.

About a mile after gaining the upper trail things level out and campsites appear -- about two or three of them. You choose whether you want readily accessible water or REI-catalog-style views out of your tent. We chose the water (we needed it), and it was a gorgeous little spot with a small cascade in the background. The water was freezing and delicious, and once a family hikers and a few troops of mountain bikers left, we had the site to ourselves for the night.

Huckleberries were abundant but pretty tart. Mosquitoes were barely an annoyance, as were yellowjackets.

The whole trip was an unmitigated success, which was slightly surprising considering how much hiking is involved in backpacking, and how a trail that steep was a dubious choice.

This was our third time to hike this trail this month. This is a 3.4 mile RT hike with a gradual 700 ft elevation gain.We rarely see candy stick plants so returned to see their growth progression since we saw them on 7-4 and 7-7. This time we also saw several gnome plants in the same area. We have seen these in only 3 other places so finding them calls for many pictures to be taken which slows our hiking time, but adds to the pleasures of the hike! Even though the lighting on the falls wasn't perfect for photos the falls were impressive and beautiful with a rainbow as an added bonus.