parked at lower falls and hiked up to middle falls then continued to upper falls. it was a good hike, trail is in great condition and it was a beautiful day, mid - high seventies. the further up we hiked, the less people we saw.

since we lost signal before we realized, I didn't read the hike description so we turned around at upper falls and headed back. but we did see a steep trail heading up, continuing the Lewis river trail.

the next day, we took our friend who hates hiking to the upper parking lot TH and we found the viewpoint from the top of the upper falls and it was spectacular. the area at the bottom of the falls was peaceful and majestic. the view of the same falls from the top was thunderous and exciting.

we also went back to middle falls and jumped in this time, swimming across and getting an new amazing perspective of the middle falls but you need to be a strong swimmer, the current is no joke.

if I did it again, I'd start at upper falls and hike down to lower and back, stopping at middle for a swim.

you do need the printed pass AND a northwest forest pass or one of the other interagency ones to park here. if you don't have a NW Forest pass, it's $5 day use fee AND the parking permit.

also, if you plan to do ape caves while out there, you need reservations, we learned too late

Stayed at the campgrounds here and hiked the shallow river, from the top of the Lower Lewis river Falls to the middle falls. Gorgeous hike right in the river. My 10 year old son did it with me. One section we had to traverse over fallen logs as the river section was too swift and the end of our hike which is the bottom of the middle falls is kinda sketchy but that too can make for a great adventure. We also had problems with some buzzing insects seemingly following us, which really bothered us though we still had an epic time and look forward to doing this again! 

It is not a short hike and we did it spontaneously. I advise preparing by bringing water and snacks. And maybe first aid and bug spray.

Hiked the Lower, Middle, and Upper Falls in the Lewis River Recreation Area last Saturday

The parking lots require reservations, so I was lucky to get one for the Middle Falls parking lot for Saturday. We stayed close to Cougar, so we were able to get there around 8 AM. 

Driving on Forest Road 90 was quite OK, the rough parts had signage, so no surprise potholes, I had plenty of warning to slow down in time.

The parking lot for Middle Falls had only one other car, but there wasn't any privy here.

We first hiked to Lower Falls. Lots of people camping here and making breakfast or getting ready to hike, but there was no one along the viewpoints. The falls are beautiful, but I didn't see any obvious way to go down to the river downstream and close to the falls.

From here we made our way to Middle Falls, but did not take the trail to go down to it, and instead first visited Upper Falls.

The trail from Middle to Upper is really pretty - you walk at the foot of a cliff at some places, with jagged rocks above you that looks like they might fall down. There are also many large Douglas Fir trees, and I also saw a thick Red Cedar. Lots of huckleberry bushes too, but looked like the berries were long picked off.

The Upper Falls are beautiful too, and you can spread out and sit down at the river level here.

I also continued further up, where the trail was steep, but I could get to the Upper Falls viewing area, where I was closer to the loud gushing of water on the side of the falls, definitely worth making the trip uphill. 

On the way back took the trail down to Middle Falls, where you do have some space to sit on the rocks next to the falls, and dip your feet in the water.

Back in the parking lot we did see a ranger making sure the parked cars had a NW Forest Pass and parking reservation, and driving back we also saw another ranger stopping cars as they entered the fee area and checking their reservations. We had printed ours out so we didn't depend on a screenshot and could display the print-out on our dash.

What a beautiful hike! I left Portland around 5:45am and made it to the lower Lewis Falls day use parking by 7:50am. Be sure to get the $2.00 parking pass if you’re hiking in this area this summer! I had no issues getting a permit online for the date I wanted to hike. Trailhead parking was easy and only two other cars were there when I arrived. Bathroom at the trailhead was clean and stocked with TP. Yahoo!

The lower falls is within 1/8 mile of the day use parking and it’s gorgeous! I hiked on to middle falls and only saw one other group of hikers. Trail is easy with minimal issues- some mud and a few fallen trees - but nothing too difficult to pass! Middle Falls is a short jaunt off the main Lewis river trail but it’s all downhill to get there so be prepared for a short but steep return. 

Upper Falls was about 3.5 miles in and is the most beautiful waterfall I’ve seen on a hike. I caught the morning light and it was like out of a fairytale. I hung out on the rocks for a bit then turned around to head back. Made it back to my car in just over 2 hours. Total mileage was about 6.3. 

After a misguided trip thanks to navigation, I arrived at the Lower Lewis Falls parking lot just after 1pm. The road in has a lot of portions that are extra narrow due to blow downs not being completely cleared off the road. I also saw two deer on the road, so going slowly is important. The lot was mostly empty and the falls were raging.

Due to the recent rains, the trails are very muddy and in many places covered with running water. At the first bridge between lower and middle falls, a tree has fallen onto the bridge and broken the side. There are more blow downs to scramble over/under/around along the entire trail. Between the middle and upper falls, a tree on the downhill side of the trail has fallen and taken out that section of trail in the process. Additional slides in that area are likely. 

Very few people for a holiday weekend which was a nice surprise.