Narada Falls, WA

Vicinity Location:
About 97 miles northeast of Portland, OR. and 65 miles southeast of Seattle in Mt. Rainier National Park.  

Directions:
From Seattle, take I-5 South to Hwy 512 East and go towards Puyallup (Exit 127). Follow Hwy 512 East for about 2 miles. Turn south onto Hwy 7 towards Mt. Rainier. Follow Hwy 7 south to Elbe. At Elbe, turn left onto Hwy 706, travel through Ashford, and then to the Nisqually entrance of Mt. Rainier National Park. Now, follow the last paragraph of the directions. 

From Portland, take I-5 North and take exit 68 to Hwy 12. Take Hwy 12 for about 30 miles to Morton. Turn left on Hwy 7 and drive about 17 miles to Hwy 706. Turn right on Hwy 706 and drive to the Nisqually entrance on the west side of Mt. Rainier National Park. The drive take about 3 1/4 hours.

Once you are in the park, continue several miles past Longmire Inn and turn right into the parking lot at Narada Falls.

Flush toilets available near the parking lot, across Paradise River

Pets aren’t allowed on National Park trails.

National Park Entrance fee of $30.00 or Annual Pass is required to enter the park.

Length and Elevation:
0.3 Miles, Elevation loss of 120 feet and gain of 120 Feet.

Trail:
Narada Falls Trail with connections to the Wonderland Trail

There are no geocaches along this trail.

Trail Maps:
Topo Map, Download Garmin .gpx file, Open Garmin .gpx file

Review: October 1, 2020
From the parking lot walk across the stone bridge over Paradise River and stop to look at the river as if flows over the first small waterfall below the bridge.

Just past the bridge is the trail on the right that drops down through the shady forest to about the midpoint of Narada Falls. There is no trail to the bottom of the falls and the wood railings and cliffs prevent going to the bottom of the falls.

At the viewpoints enjoy the splash of the falls. Most days the spray does not reach the trail but during spring runoff be prepared for mist at the viewpoints. On sunny afternoons a rainbow forms at the base of the falls. You can continue downhill to the Wonderland trail or near the bathrooms is a trail that leads up to Reflection Lakes and on to the Paradise Visitors Center.

Narada is a Hindu word which translates to pure or uncontaminated. The two falls total 176 feet tall with the bottom waterfall being 159 feet high.

Once you return to the parking lot you can walk to a place where you can view the falls from behind the safety of the stone guardrail.

This is a short and easy hike though the trail can be a bit slippery as there is always some water seeping onto the trail.

Enjoy the photos!!
Gallery Pics
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