Lewis River Trail Washington

 Lewis River Trail - Gifford Pinchot National Forest

The Lewis River trail follows a gentle uphill grade through a magnificent Douglas fir, western red cedar and big leaf maple old-growth forest. This trail has multiple sections and also we can view the beautiful waterfalls along the river trail.

Trail sections and spurs:

#31 Lewis River Trail: Curly Creek to Lower Falls

#31 Lewis River Trail: Lower Falls to Quartz Creek

#31A Curly Creek and Miller Creek Falls Trail

#31C Middle Falls Trail

#31E Speed Trail 

The Lower Lewis River Falls are spectacular. At 43 feet high and 200 feet across. On the left side is a churning trough which gathers most of the water flow, and there are several viewpoints to capture the scene from.

Start point: Lower Lewis River Falls Trailhead

End point: Taitnapum Falls

Distance: 6.6 miles

Elevation gain: 500 feet

Passes: A valid Recreation Pass / Northwest Forest Pass is required

 

Middle Lewis Falls is 33 foot cataract is the widest of the multitude of waterfalls along the Lewis River. The falls spread out over a broad bedrock sheet then crash sideways into a trough, half of the falls plunging straight down in a horseshoe and half sliding down the bedrock. From one end to the other the falls are almost 300 feet wide.

Upper Lewis River Falls is the tallest of the four major falls on this section of the river. Here the Lewis encounters a strangely squared sheet of basalt, sheets out over the flat rock allowing a small portion of the river to plunge a sheer 58 feet over the overhanging cliff, but the majority of the water gathers in a narrow trough and stair-steps to the pool below.