Carter Falls

Carter Falls is a roughly 50-foot horsetail waterfall on the Paradise River, reached on foot from Cougar Rock. Plan on about 2.8 miles round trip and 660 feet of climbing. The walk is worthwhile if you enjoy a forest trail as much as the waterfall: the Nisqually River crossing and its Mount Rainier view are a second payoff. The cascade is partly screened from some trail-side angles, so it is a modest, close-up stop rather than a wide-open plunge-pool overlook.

The trailhead is across Paradise Road from Cougar Rock Campground, about two miles north of Longmire. The path drops into the Nisqually River gorge, crosses the river on a log footbridge, then climbs beside the Paradise River through old-growth forest. Parking can be limited; use the Cougar Rock area or a Paradise Road pullout. The bridge often washes out in fall and winter, so check its current condition before planning to cross. Pets are not allowed on trails or along the Nisqually River.

Bring lunch if you want to eat along the way: the broad, rocky riverbed near the trailhead is a natural place to sit by the water. The trailhead also has an interpretive exhibit.

The falls spill over dark ledges in a long, sloping sheet. Trees screen parts of the view, so look for a clear opening from the trail rather than expecting a built viewing platform. For a photograph of the cascade, frame the white water with the surrounding trunks and rock; the log bridge gives the more expansive shot, with Mount Rainier above the Nisqually gorge.

Continue about 100 yards beyond Carter Falls to see Madcap Falls, a separate cascade about 34 feet high. It makes a worthwhile short addition if the bridge and trail conditions are safe.

The approach passes Douglas fir, western hemlock and red cedar, with sword ferns, vine maple and huckleberries beneath them. Gray jays may come close to hikers. Watch the river and forest on the way up; the walk has more to notice than the falls alone.

A large glacial erratic sits in a stream about seven-tenths of a mile from the trailhead. It is one of the route’s quieter geology stops: a boulder left among smaller stream rocks by retreating ice, well before the trail reaches the falls.

Carter Falls honors a guide associated with building the early trail between Longmire and Paradise. The waterfall’s name connects this short walk to the route that first opened the Paradise Valley to visitors.