The Lewis River Falls trail does not disappoint. Ever. The snow is gone, the falls are running full right now and are gorgeous, wildflowers are beginning to bloom (vanilla leaf, false Solomon seal, Sitka valerian), there are very few people (on a weekday, I met 4-5 parties on the return), and until June 15 you don't need a parking reservation. It's an easy trail, I didn't take my poles out of my pack, and I always use them.

That said, the uncleared blowdown is epic. To amuse myself on the return, I counted the trees I had to go over, under, or around: 31. My 72-yo body was complaining when I got home! Also 4 trail washouts (at least a couple of them were not new, tho). I did try to continue on the trail to the top of Upper Falls, which is the only hard climbing bit of the entire trail. I've been before, and really wanted to get back. But once at the top of the climb, the falls not yet in view, there was another blowdown I could not navigate. Multiple small trees with branches, fallen close together; the trail completely hidden.

I clocked 6.8 miles from the parking area near the campground, and including the aborted trek to the top. (I cut through the campground on the return.)

Note to newcomers: you can drive to a parking area at a trailhead to middle falls (the least impressive of the three), as well as another to upper falls. I didn't know about the latter, and I wonder if it goes to the top of the falls (if so, the blowdown would make it difficult to get to the lovely beach below). You would miss the hike, of course, but also much of the blowdown!

More words and photos on my blog!

Bottom Line:

Beautiful ala carte hikes out of multiple trailheads north of Carson, in southwest WA. Today, three distinct waterfalls all with very different characters, one smaller and elegant, the other two large and absolutely gushing. All impressive! Beautiful old-growth forest hiking, and views of the east side of Mt St Helens when transiting from Panther Creek to Lewis River by road. Permits are required to park at the Lewis River trailheads starting mid-June (see Recreation.gov) due to its popularity in the summer. Lower Lewis Falls looks like a fantastic swimming location once water volumes decrease, with a large shallow rock platform on the edge of a deep plunge pool (see pics below). There are MANY down trees on the Lewis River trail at this time posing significant obstacles.

Stats:

• Distance: 6 miles
• Vertical: ~800 ft
• Duration: 3+ hours
• Road/Parking: The road from Carson WA to these falls starts on the Wind River Hwy. The road is paved, but the NF-65 spur to Panther Creek is dirt with some potholes. The Panther Creek trailhead is not well-marked; however, there is a notable clearing and rocky face on the right side of the road at the trailhead. The trail itself is across the road (you will hear the creek) backtracking a bit down the road (white arrows painted on the road). Heading farther north on Wind River Hwy, the road to Lewis River Recreation Area becomes dirt for a short time, and one crosses a snow-park summit with some patches of snow as you wind around the east side of Mt St Helens. There are many other waterfall trailheads along this route if want to create a Grand Tour of sorts! The parking lot at Lower Lewis Falls is large and requires a permit during the summer. There is only room for a handful of cars at the upper falls trailhead. All trailheads require a National Forest Pass to park. White Falls State Park is near Maupin, OR with plenty of parking and no parking pass requirement.
• Weather: Mix of sun and cloud, high 60s, no wind (despite gusty weather in The Gorge)
• Trail: The Panther Creek hike is short but steep (<1 mile) including the rough extension down to the lower falls, where there is some exposure and risk (very slippery). There are otherwise platforms and fencing, with warning signs about the risks of falls into the creek. The Lewis Creek Trail is beautiful, with old-growth forest, flowering trees (e.g. dogwood) and amazing river views. One can hike from lower to middle, and then upper falls for ~8 miles RT, but there are MANY down trees on the trail, slowing down progress. Alternately, one can drive between trailheads for the three falls, with the trail to upper falls actually heading downstream, adding some mileage and passing another minor waterfall on route. The Lewis River is running high, and there is NO BEACH at Lower Falls to descend to river level. One would be swept away with a fall. At upper falls, there is significant exposure at the viewpoint, and again one could be easily swept away (I would say lower is family-friendly right now, but not upper). Both falls become a little more interesting, with lacy streams of water, with lower water levels into the summer. The lower falls also have river access and wading opportunities then. The short trail to descend into the White River canyon is steep and rough. One can hike into the plunge pool beyond the 2nd tier, but there is a risk of being swept away as the water rushes over the smooth rock so CAUTION (this reminded me of Yosemite Vernal Falls); there is a historic hydro building at the bottom of the canyon that is cool to check out; the ascent out of the canyon on the rough trail will get your heart pounding :)
• Takeaway: The Oregon side of The Gorge is certainly known for its waterfalls, but the WA side is no slouch either! The WA falls are more remote, and that means fewer crowds. Lewis River Recreation Area is a great destination with a possible 14-mile one-way hike passing through lower, middle and upper falls that I will need to try next time. Panther Creek is a ~1 hour RT detour on the way to Lewis River. This is an ideal time of year for all, although Panther had lower than optimal water, and the Lewis Falls were gushing, and probably a little more interesting with lower water. Down in Oregon, White River falls is a stunner - there are camping opportunities on the bluff above the falls

I have attached a 4K video of the WA waterfalls - maybe more impressive than still pics ;) There is also a reel in Instagram that includes these falls, but also White River Falls in Oregon (near Maupin), a three-tiered huge waterfall in a canyon.

I did this on May 18, 2024, which is a great time of year to do Lewis River Falls Trail to avoid the heat! There are two main Hiking Approaches to tackling this PREMIUM zone of Gifford Pinchot National Forest.....one is the "Completionist Method" of doing the Full Lewis River Hike (details about this method are in the paragraph below). The other, frankly much more common, is the "Cherry Picking Method" of breaking up the 3 Lewis Falls (Lower, Middle & Upper) into 3 Short Hikes by moving your car to each Closest Trailhead and making the Hikes as short & efficient as possible.

If doing the three "Cherry Picking Method" Hikes, here is a Video of Each Hike:

Lower Lewis Falls - https://youtu.be/cUXNjeMF5xI

Middle Lewis Falls - https://youtu.be/rO3QzLWVS5w

Upper Lewis Falls - https://youtu.be/6XHoyZYDBAY

If you are are a Wilderness Adventuring Purist and want to commit to the "Completionist Method", the Lewis River Trail is approximately 15 Miles One Way Point-to-Point and is one of the MOST PREMIUM WATERFALL ZONES in the Entire USA! The most common route (IF DOING THE WHOLE HIKE) is to start at the SW Trailhead near the Bridge and Hike NE to each of the Highlights of the area - Lower, Middle & Upper Lewis Falls, which are spread out miles apart from each other along the Lewis River Trail. I also think Upper Copper Creek Falls is pretty amazing and a bit underappreciated, it is just before Middle Lewis Falls going North. I would recommend prior to starting your NE Hike at the Lewis River Trailhead proper, it is worth going the opposite direction to Curly Creek Falls Viewpoint as a short out and back tangent before the main thrust of the Hike. There are many places you can get up close and personal with Lewis River along the Main Trail for water refill (depending on your equipment) and cold water cool off. The Lewis River Trail ends at Quartz Creek which is worth checking out on its own merit, it has an extended rocky shoreline in both directions from the Bridge Overlook and is a worthy destination in itself.

If doing the "Completionist Method", here is the Video:

https://youtu.be/1ePXi1hiH1w

Here is the Video of the 3 Waterfall Highlights only, Lower, Middle & Upper Lewis Falls:

https://youtu.be/lDtOD39gfXY

We rode our bikes from Lower Falls to about a mile before Middle Falls, but there were too many downed trees to carry bikes over. But then we hiked the rest of the way to Upper Falls. Yes there are blowdowns along the way, but not too many and most are easily passable (biggest one is on the final approach to upper). It's an absolutely gorgeous trail, the falls are gushing! There was nobody on the trail Sunday morning and Lower Falls campground had just opened this weekend.

Parked at the lower falls parking. The falls are powerful right now and just a short walk from the parking. The hike from the lower falls to the middle falls requires trail maintenance as there are lots of down trees. Nothing too complex to manage but it did impact our trail enjoyment. We turned around at the middle falls and did not continue to the upper falls due to all the down trees.