Length
Elevation Gain
Highest Point
There are two routes to Kalama Falls. The longer forest trail is for hikers and horsemen, and the gravel road is for casual walkers and bikers. Both are easy to walk, with some elevation change, and both reach the same destination: Kalama River Falls.
The shorter route includes a road walk and begins at a gated two-track gravel road (#7500) — milepost 6 on Forest Road 81. The road goes through the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's Merrill Lake Wildlife Area. This road route ends just before a single-lane concrete bridge. A sign leads into the forest, where a 0.25-mile footpath goes to Kalama River Falls.
Kalama River Falls is a two-tiered, plunge-type waterfall, and a worthwhile destination viewed from two upper bank levels with an old-growth forest in the background. The geology suggests the lava ended here before it pushed further south, forming the north bank of the Kalama River downstream.
Beyond the falls, the Kalama River heads west as a wild and scenic river, eventually reaching the Columbia River. The falls are active year-round, and the river’s origin is spring-fed McBride Lake on the south slope of Mount St. Helens. The Merrill Lake stream that converges with the river at the bottom of the falls doubles the volume. The trails from the bluff overlooking the falls are primitive and difficult to traverse.
The Kalama River Falls and trails are public access and part of the 1,448 acres acquired by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife between 2015 and 2019.
Trailhead
