Middle Martha Falls
Posted by: 
krazykatzen
N 46° 45.840 W 121° 41.675
10T E 599680 N 5179766
A short 3/4 mile (one way) hike down the Wonderland Trail to a small footbridge crossing Unicorn Creek. The falls are located within Rainier National Park.
Waymark Code: WM4FH9
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 08/17/2008
Views: 26
Martha Falls is actually a huge series of over 8 distinct drops, for a total height of 665 feet! Unfortunately, only several drops are visible, and only the middle portion of the falls are approachable by trail. The last drop of Lower Martha Falls is visible from Steven's Canyon road from a scenic pullout, and even from a far distance, the 160 plunge is spectacular.
To truly experience the falls requires a short but steep hike down a portion of the Wonderland Trail. The trail crosses the road just a half mile up from the scenic viewpoint. There is a small turnout on the north-east side of the road, but trail signs are not really visible from the parking area. This trail is well maintained, but even on a busy summer Saturday, you will likely have the trail and the waterfall to yourself.
The trail descends about 500 feet to cold Unicorn Creek below. A recent avalanche has deposited a small log jam just below the falls; so a fun way to claim this waymark without a photo is to describe how many old, destroyed bridges you can count from the falls. The headwaters to Unicorn Creek are approachable by another trail to Snow Lake, which is incredibly popular on weekends.
From the new bridge across Unicorn Creek, the falls drop over a sixty foot tall columnar basalt palisade. A view point from the nearby abandoned stream crossing provides a glimpse of the upper tier of these falls, which is not visible from the new bridge below. The upper tier is a 15' drop just prior to the creek falling and fanning out over the basalt cliff below. Also from the old trail, a very steep chute channels the creek into a swift flowing slide.
Martha Falls was named in the late 1880’s for Martha Longmire, by her son Ben Longmire. Unicorn Creek eventually feeds into the Cowlitz River downstream.
Type: Fan
Watercourse: Unicorn Creek
Waterfall Height: 75
Seasonality: Perennial
Viewpoint: Bottom
Path Up and Down: Partial
Walk Behind: Not at all
Parking Coordinates: Not Listed
Seasons of Best Flow: Not listed
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