Sight · Mount Rainier National Park
A forest-wrapped, 140-foot plunge on St. Andrews Creek.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Mount Rainier Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Mount Rainier National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Mount Rainier audio tourMore stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Denman Falls is a roughly 140-foot waterfall on St. Andrews Creek in Mount Rainier’s Westside Road area. This is a deliberate outing, not a roadside stop: from the Dry Creek barricade, follow Westside Road 7.7 miles on foot or bicycle to the St. Andrews Creek trailhead. A short 0.3-mile loop begins beside the bridge and leads to the viewpoint. Bicycles are not allowed on the trail.
The falls make a freefall plunge into a forested creek ravine. Trees partly obscure the established viewpoint, so expect a framed glimpse rather than an open panorama; look for a gap in the branches to catch more of the cascade.
Vehicle access for this approach ends at the Dry Creek barricade. The road beyond is a rockfall hazard, and the park advises visitors to avoid lingering in the hazard zone. Check current Westside Road conditions before setting out, since access can change.
Denman Falls is named for Asahel Holmes Denman, a photographer who documented Mount Rainier in the early 20th century. Farther downstream, St. Andrews Creek has two more named falls, Larrupin and Ethania, but reaching them is very difficult; they are not an easy add-on to this outing.
Wildlife
466 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
383 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
10 sightingsWolverineMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
58 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
574 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
1,853 sightingsHoary MarmotMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Mount Rainier. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateNorth Puyallup River Trail5.4 mi · 3 hr · 1 mi awayFollow a mossy old roadbed to a remote river camp.
ModerateSouth Puyallup Trail3.2 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.2 mi awayFind columnar lava where this forest trail meets the Wonderland
ModerateGobblers Knob via Puyallup Trail7.2 mi · 4.5 hr · 3.3 mi awayA western approach to a historic lookout above Goat Lake.
ChallengingLake George and Gobblers Knob Trail11.2 mi · 6.5 hr · 4.1 mi awayAn old road leads to a 1933 lookout above Tahoma Glacier.
ChallengingKlapatche Park via St. Andrews Creek Trail21 mi · 13 hr · 4.1 mi awayA long road walk earns a flowered meadow and alpine lake.
ChallengingEmerald Ridge Trail16 mi · 8.5 hr · 4.1 mi awayA long west-side approach pays off with Tahoma Glacier views.
ModerateLake George Trail9.2 mi · 5 hr · 4.1 mi awayA long road walk ends at a lake and historic patrol cabin.
ModerateWestside Road to Round Pass7.6 mi · 4 hr · 4.1 mi awayA gravel road walk ends at the Marine Memorial at Round Pass.
Sight · 1 mi awayKlapatche PointLong road walk or bike ride to a remote west-side viewpoint.
Historic marker · 2.4 mi awayMarine MemorialA sobering memorial to 32 Marines, 3.8 miles from Dry Creek.
Sight · 2.9 mi awayGobblers Knob Fire LookoutA 1933 lookout above Lake George, reached by a long, steep hike.
Sight · 4.3 mi awayIndian Henry’s Patrol CabinA century-old patrol cabin in a meadow backed by Mount RainierParkwolf’s Mount Rainier ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
