Saturday, November 26, 2011

Washington: Snoqualmie Falls

Snoqualmie Falls from the lower viewing
platform. A local energy company is
building a hydroelectric plant on the site,
so the trails to the bottom are closed and cranes 
marred the landscape.
The second day of our Washington vacation we went to Snoqualmie Falls. This was very close to Issaquah where we were staying and would certainly be within day tripping distance from Seattle.

The falls themselves were quite impressive but this was not a wilderness experience.  Getting a parking spot in the long, ergonomically incorrect parking lot took fortitude, the ability to curse like a sailor, and the willingness to run over aged grand parents  from three continents.

There are multiple view locations that provide slightly different angles to the falls.  They can be reached via stairs or long handicapped ramps, which was great from my aged mother who could not do stairs.  Each of these platforms was seething with humanity.  The aged grandparents I almost killed in the parking lot had brought along their entire extended families from India, Latin America, and China and they were not about to give up their spot on the railings until Uncle Beezlebub had taken every possible combination of photos of the smiling brood.   I think our mistake was visiting the falls on a weekend and a sunny one to boot.

Next to the falls is the Salish Inn, which a friend had reported had a wonderful Sunday brunch.  We could not get anywhere near the two restaurants and so bolted out of there back to our rain forest oasis as quickly as possible. Still, the falls are worth seeing, just go mid-week and avoid the hordes. 

The view from the upper platform

1 comment:

Linda said...

The countryside would be perfect without tourists!
Come to think of it, 'countryside' is probably the wrong word to describe much of the North American outdoors. Too tame a word.

North Rock Creek Snowshoe

Distance: 4 miles round trip Elevation: 9,180 ft to 9,780 ft Elevation Gain: 600 ft Dogs: Off leash until the wilderness boundary North...