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  MILL CREEK FALLS
RATING - 50.0

VR - 6 (Med)               HR - 6.0                  SR - 14/20

TYPE OF APPROACH - Bushwhack

DIFFICULTY - Difficult

LOCATION - South Skagit Highway

TYPE - Tiered

HEIGHT - 190'

WIDTH - 10'

Main tier from the frontMill Creek Falls is a tall, multi-tiered waterfall located in a deep, steeply walled canyon a couple miles upstream from the South Skagit Highway.  The falls drop a total of 190' in four tiers.  The uppermost tier is a 35' curtain of water that can't be seen from the base.  This is followed the by 127' tall main tier.  This drop sort of curves around as it falls in a weird twisting horsetail.  From the front, this actually looks like two separate tiers, but if you scramble up to a view right in front of the drop you'll see that it's one continuous drop (see photo on the left).  Below this drop, the creek has two more tiers:  a 16' horsetail and a 12' tall fan shaped drop.  The area around the falls is beautiful as well.  There are abundant ferns and moss that make for a very lush scene.

Located at the base of the falls on the left is an old mine of some sort.  I haven't been able to find any information about this mine, but I have a friend of mine researching the matter.  I walked about 100' into the mine before it got too dark to continue.  If I go back to the waterfall, I'll be sure to take a flashlight so I can investigate further.

As cool as the area is, it takes a long time to get in there.  The round trip was about five hours.  There are only a couple of difficult spots on the journey; it's just long.  If you attempt the trip upstream from the highway, make sure you have shoes with good ankle support and plan on getting wet.
DIRECTIONS - Mill Creek is located along the South Skagit Highway about a mile east of O'Toole Creek.  Park at the creek and begin the long journey upstream.  The falls are about two miles upstream.  The journey is not horribly difficult, but it's long and time consuming.  You'll have to climb over or around a couple small lower falls and wade through a couple waist deep pools.  It's probably possible to save some of the bushwhack by walking up a logging road on the west side of the creek and climbing into the canyon but I haven't done it that way yet.

NEARBY WATERFALLS - Marietta Falls

ADDITIONAL PICTURES (CLICK TO ENLARGE) AND VIDEO

Mill Creek Falls     Bottom of the main drop     Bottom of the main tier     Two tiers of Mill Creek Falls     Entrance to the mine    

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