Sight · Olympic National Park
Two waterfall tiers spill through forest, visible from the bridge.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Olympic Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Olympic 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 Olympic audio tourRecorded for this place
Bunch Falls: Two Drops from the Bridge“You're approaching Bunch Falls, a quick pause on the Quinault loop rather than a waterfall to make a special detour for.”
Plays as you drive up to Bunch Falls in the Parkwolf Olympic Tour Guide.
More 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
Bunch Falls is a roughly 75-foot, two-tier waterfall on Bunch Creek in Olympic's Quinault rainforest. It drops through a mossy ravine beside South Shore Quinault Road and is visible from the bridge, so you can see it without a hike. Treat it as an easy pause on the Quinault loop rather than a destination that needs a long detour.
The upper fall spreads across wooded rock; the lower narrows into a horsetail before breaking into cascades among the creek boulders. Spring runoff brings the strongest show. The rocks are exceptionally slick, so the bridge is the sensible place to take it in. For a photo, frame both drops and the creek below in a vertical composition.
Parking is an informal roadside pull-off rather than a developed lot. South Shore Quinault Road has an unpaved stretch with potholes and rough patches; take it slowly and check current conditions before setting out, especially in a large vehicle. Download directions before leaving the lakeshore, as phone service can be unreliable. The falls can feel modest from the road, so they work best as a pause on the loop rather than a special trip.
Wildlife
710 sightingsOlympic MarmotMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
30 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
42 sightingsGrey WhaleMost seen around noonSighting map
23 sightingsMountain LionMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
71 sightingsMountain GoatMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
306 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Olympic. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyIrely Lake Trail2.2 mi · 1.8 hr · 3.3 mi awayA mossy rainforest walk to a small lake with Mount Hoquiam views.
ChallengingThree Lakes Trail via Big Creek13.8 mi · 9 hr · 3.3 mi awayA long forest climb to a mossy subalpine lake basin
ChallengingNorth Fork Quinault River Trail33 mi · 1 day · 3.9 mi awayOld-growth river forest, rugged fords, and meadows at Low DivideParkwolf’s Olympic ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
