The main trail description is fairly accurate, but I think the trail has been worked on to improve it since it was written.  The main problem was that the dirt/rocks was very loose in some areas which may cause one to slip. Going in we had to climb over 40 downed trees (my husband counted)! But coming out we met two volunteers from the Cascadians (THANK YOU!!!) clearing them, and they were leaving the trail much more passable. There were still a couple of very large trees over the trail that they might not have been able to tackle with their hand saws. At about the 1.6-ish point there is a very deep gully/washout that still has water running in it. The old trail was destroyed here, so when you see several logs laid across the trail to block it, look uphill to the right to see pink ribbons marking the trail. These ribbons mark a newer boot track to an easier crossing of the gully and then after crossing will guide you back to the main trail. Just before you get to the second falls, there is a bit of a slide area with lots of loose dirt/ash mix. I was thinking that this would be a bit of a sketchy area if you had small children along. You would probably want to hold hands here. We admired the second falls, then crossed the creek to the “grotto” area of the third falls. There was a log my hiking companions used to get across. I’m not so much of a log crosser, but I had my Crocs, so I waded across. It was definitely worth the bit of extra effort to see the third falls. I don’t know what that original writer was talking about, there were plenty of rocks and logs to sit upon while eating lunch and enjoying the falls. There were many and varied wildflowers in bloom—absolutely beautiful. Bugs weren’t too bad, but we did put on some repellent early on the trail. This was a lovely hike for a warm, sunny day. Even though the trail rambles through the burn area, there still are shady, cool areas to rest, and the new growth looks healthy and hopeful. We enjoyed our time on this trail. 

I left Friday after work to beat the crowds and see if I could score a campsite. I figured I might as well knock this one off since it was on the way. No one in the parking lot at 6:30. Despite there being a bathroom at the trailhead I was disappointed to find a poop covered pile of tissue about ten feet into the trail and five feet off of it. People never cease to amaze me. But I digress, this is a trail report and not a rant.

As has been reported by others, after you cross the creek on a nice bridge and start the switchbacks, you'll come to a well-defined path on the left that descends to the creek. Though I knew from reports it only leads to a view of the top of the falls, I always have to see for myself and sure enough it's true. After a few more switchbacks another well-defined trail descends left to the pool right below the falls. At the bottom it's muddy with wet rocks and roots. The falls kept pulling me closer though and I eventually found myself on a rocky bar at the edge of the pool. Close enough to spray my camera lens making it impossible to capture it there. The main thing to note about both of these side trails is they're steep, hard packed dirt, and often covered with pebbles waiting to take you for a ride so be cautious.

Well worth the stop and I still scored a spot at Hell's Crossing Campground. About a half mile round trip to the lower falls but it does go further to the North Falls and beyond.

We started around 11 am. Crossed the log bridge and made it to the first water fall. It’s about .25 mile into the trail. We went down the first path we came to. It was a bit difficult but we made it down and up. Got back on the trail and headed up a few switch backs. Found another path down to the waterfall. It split to the left and right. The left trail down is much easier. Although, the loose soil can be slippery. Got back on the trail to head to the second waterfall. The rest of the trail was more difficult. A lot of downed trees that we had to go under or over or around. Crossed two gullies. The second one was more difficult to cross. There were a few pink ribbons on the trees. We think to help mark the trail in hard to follow spots. Several areas of the trail were covered so much by trees and brush that we lost the trail a few times. Made it to the second waterfall, turned around and came back. It was pretty warm and we were pretty tired by the time we got back. It was a harder hike than we had expected it to be. We got back to the car at 4 pm.

We got to trailhead Saturday around 4 pm, and the parking lot was pretty empty. We saw about 2 other ppl on trail. Trailhead is well signed, pit toilet was locked. We read a sign that says you can see the falls a lil past 0.25 miles in. So some of us made the mistake of wearing Tevas (sandals) to do the short hike. 

Trail: At 0.25 miles in, you cross a log bridge. Then with a few feet, you reach a fork in the trail. Both lead to views of the waterfall, both views are great. We headed up trail first, which included a few switchbacks. Then you get to a side trail that goes to the falls. This is wear the sandal wearing was a mistake. The side trail the the falls is very slippery even when dry, I did take a small fall. My husband was in hiking shoes and he was even slipping and had to be cautious. We were the only ones at the falls. After taking a round of photos and getting sprayed by the fall, we headed back down trail to the other side trail. This left trail was way easier to get to the falls, and the view was just as great. 

After the second fall viewing we headed back to our car. We did not hike the full trail, just to go view the waterfall. Great short waterfall hike in this area!

The trail is short and well maintained minus the two spurs to see Union creek falls. The second spur to see Union Creek Falls is quite steep and has some minor scree covering it, but the drop off could be very injurious, if not fatal. Be careful my friend fell on her butt, and it could have been much worse. The first spur is safer and slightly less steep but caution is still advised. The onyl problem is you cannot see the full falls from the first spur, it is partially covered by a  flank sticking out from the gorge. I'd love to work on a safer re-route for spur 2 with WTA, probably could get done relatively quickly as the spur is so short.