Sight · Mount Rainier National Park
A blue-green waterfall hike with a steep climb back to the road.
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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 tourRecorded for this place
Deer Creek Falls: A Short, Steep Walk“Deer Creek trailhead is coming up, with a short, steep forest walk to a waterfall that spills sideways across boulders before dropping into a gorge.”
Plays as you drive up to Stafford Falls in the Parkwolf Mount Rainier Tour Guide.
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“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
Stafford Falls is a waterfall on Chinook Creek in Mount Rainier's Ohanapecosh Area, reached by a roughly four-mile round trip from the Deer Creek Trailhead. It's a good pick for a creek walk that ends at a rock-walled plunge pool; the route drops steeply from SR 123, then makes you climb about 300 feet back to the road. The start is a roadside pullout with room for only a few vehicles.
Follow Owyhigh Lakes Trail downhill for 0.4 mile to Eastside Trail, then head south about 1.5 miles to the short falls spur. The approach passes smaller cascades, narrow chutes and blue-green pools before you reach the waterfall. There are no services at the roadside start. Pets aren't allowed on park trails, and treat creek water before drinking.
Chinook Creek drops roughly 25 to 30 feet into a clear plunge pool between vertical basalt walls. From the short spur, the viewpoint looks into the bowl from near the height of the falls' top; include the pool and dark rock walls in your photo. The falls were named for William Stafford, an early park ranger.
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
EasyDeer Creek Falls Trail0.8 mi · 45 min · 1.2 mi awayA short, steep forest walk to Deer Creek’s tiered falls.
ModerateStafford Falls via Deer Creek3.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.2 mi awayBlue-green pools and a punch bowl after a steep forest drop.
ChallengingShriner Peak Trail8 mi · 6 hr · 1.3 mi awayA tough, exposed climb to a historic lookout and wide views.
ModerateEastside Trail11.2 mi · 6.5 hr · 3.6 mi awayMeadows, waterfalls, and old growth on a long mountain traverse.
EasyTipsoo Lake Loop Trail0.7 mi · 30 min · 3.6 mi awayAn easy alpine lap with wildflowers, lake views and Rainier.
ModerateNaches Peak Loop Trail3.5 mi · 2.5 hr · 3.6 mi awayRainier leads the meadow return; Dewey Lake drops away on the PCT.
ModeratePacific Crest Trail: Chinook Pass to Laughingwater Creek Junction8.9 mi · 6 hr · 4.1 mi awayLakes, meadows and Rainier views reward this long PCT traverse.
ModerateSheep Lake to Sourdough Gap Trail6.6 mi · 4 hr · 4.1 mi awayA lakeside pause before a steeper climb to a high saddle.
Sight · 1.1 mi awayShriner Peak Fire LookoutA 1932 lookout caps a steep hike to Rainier’s southeast panorama.Sight · 1.2 mi awayDeer Creek FallsA short downhill walk to a 60-foot gorge waterfall.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayOhanapecosh FallsTwo drops, a footbridge, and a long walk into the forest.
Sight · 3.7 mi awayTipsoo LakeA short loop, wildflowers, and a chance at Rainier's reflection.
Sight · 3.9 mi awayGrove of the PatriarchsOld-growth conifers on a small island in the Ohanapecosh River
Sight · 4 mi awayChinook Entrance ArchA 90-foot CCC gateway doubles as a Pacific Crest Trail crossing.
Entrance station · 4.5 mi awayStevens Canyon EntranceGet a map before setting out on the cross-park road.
Sight · 4.7 mi awaySilver FallsA 60-foot drop and a footbridge in an old-growth gorge.Parkwolf’s Mount Rainier ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
