Vicinity Location:
The trailhead is about 54 miles Northeast of Portland, OR in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
Directions:
The trailhead is almost 2 hours away from I-5 at Woodland or from Battle Ground yet is only about 70 miles by road. The two hour travel time assumes you don’t get behind slow vehicles because the road is almost constantly curving.
From Seattle take I-5 south and exit I-5 to State Route 503 at Woodland, WA. Drive about 28 miles to Cougar, Washington.
From Portland, OR, take I-205 north to exit 30b to Battle Ground. This merges onto SR500. Move over to the middle or left lane and proceed north on SR500. The road continues straight north and changes into SR503. Drive about 6.5 more miles to Battle Ground. Continue north on SR503 for about 23 miles, passing through Chelatchie Prairie and Amboy. At the junction of Lewis River Road and SR503, turn right and drive about 5 miles on SR503 to Cougar, Washington.
From Portland or Seattle, continue through Cougar and SR503 turns into Forest Road 90. Continue on Forest Road 90 to the junction with Forest Road 25. Turn right to stay on Forest Road 90. Drive across the Lewis River and continue on Forest Road 90 another 8.4 miles to parking for Big Creek Falls, which is wide shoulder on the left.
Length and Elevation:
1.6 miles round trip. Elevation gain 0 Feet and loss 150 feet. Total gain and loss is 300 feet round trip. Elevation at the trailhead at 1,975 feet, highest point is at 1,975 feet. Lowest elevation is 1,825 feet.
Trail:
Big Creek Falls Trail #28
Trail Maps:
Topo Map, National Forest Map
No permits needed.
Review: 10/6/2008, 9/16/2017
Hike a short loop for a nice views of a plunging waterfall. There is a 500 foot Barrier-free trail leading to an overlook of Big Creek Falls. The short way to the overlook of Big Creek Falls is to take a right at the first trail junction. You soon come to an overlook of the falls. Don’t go behind the railing for a better look because the second overlook has a great view of the falls.
The trail continues gently downhill to another trail junction. The trail going north passes by an overlook of Cave falls and then an overlook of the Lewis River canyon. Head back uphill to the trail junction and make a right to complete the loop.
This is a nice wide trail, gently sloping, short trail. There are some cliffs past the loop and past the overlook fences. The loop trail is fairly safe for children who are experienced hikers.
Enjoy the Photos!
Switchback Steve
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