On Sunday, Nick and I hiked Cherry Creek Falls in Duvall (about a 45 minute drive from home). It was a sunny day with temperatures in the low 70’s, so I thought it’d be a good day for a hike.
Cherry Creek Falls statistics*:
- Roundtrip: 5.0 miles
- Elevation gain: 450 feet
- Highest point: 705 feet
*Unless you go the wrong way, like we did… more on that below.
When we first got there, we couldn’t find the trailhead. We drove around for a few minutes looking for it before parking on the street to look online for answers. We saw some people up ahead get out of their car, so we followed them and found the trailhead on the corner of Cherry Valley Road and Mountain Valley Road. It was literally just a cement block on the side of the road that marked the start of the trail.
There were no signs on the trail whatsoever, so I tried to follow the directions on WTA’s website, but that didn’t work out for us. We ended up making a wrong turn and hiking uphill before encountering some other hikers who let us know we were headed the wrong way. That part of our hike cost us an extra ~1.5 miles and the most significant elevation gain of our hike.
The trail itself isn’t bad difficulty-wise, but it’s very rocky and there are lots of small, steep up-and-down parts over dried up streams. Just before the end of the trail is a creek that you have to go over, which is the trickiest part of the hike. There’s a maybe 12 foot steep hill you have to navigate down and then walk on slippery rocks and logs across the creek (20 feet or so). Or you could walk across the creek, but the water is probably deep enough to be above your ankles, so your feet would definitely get wet.
The falls at the end of the trail are 25 feet tall and really lovely. There is a short, but very steep, path down to the base of the falls that is definitely worth going down. You get a beautiful view of the falls and the pool down there. Just watch your step!
Marie’s guide to Cherry Creek Falls
Since we had some difficulty finding our way around this trail, here’s a guide to help out anyone looking to visit Cherry Creek Falls.
Cherry Creek Falls trailhead
The trailhead is located on the east corner of NE Cherry Valley Road and Mountain View Road NE. It is marked by a cement block. There isn’t a dedicated parking lot, so you’ll need to look for street parking on Mountain View Road. Just look out for “Private property! No parking!” signs.
Take the RIGHT trail here.
Follow the trail and you’ll cross a bridge over Margaret Creek. Up ahead on the right is a grassy path. Ignore it. Shortly thereafter, you’ll come to a split in the trail. Take the more well-traveled path to the right. Do NOT go left (this is where Nick and I messed up).
Take the LEFT trail here.
Continuing along the path, you’ll eventually get to a dead end where the trail splits. Go left.
This creek is larger than it looks in the photo. Carefully cross it and then look for a trail on the RIGHT.
When you get to the creek, you’re almost at the falls. Carefully make your way across the creek and then start looking for a path on the right about 50 feet past the creek. There are a few pathways down to the falls, but they all work, so don’t worry about getting lost here. Once you get to the overlook, there is a short, steep path down to the base of the falls that is worth taking.
The best rule of thumb we found was to take the more well-traveled paths and ignore any grassy or overgrown trails. Checking with other hikers to make sure you’re going the right way is also very helpful. 🙂