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Florence Falls is a long series of cascades on the East Fork Miller River as it exits Lake Dorothy, located within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. For the longest time the falls had been assumed to have been just upstream of the confluence of the Miller and Smith Creek near the trailhead, but a copy of an old map predating the modern forest service districts illustrated the falls below the lakes outlet. I'm still not 100% certain this is in fact Florence Falls, but it is thus far the most likely candidate. The falls begin shortly below Dorothy Lake's outlet where the river bends over 100 degrees to the right and starts cascading down a narrow gorge. No individual drop in this gorge appears to be more than about 20 feet tall, but they are primarily bedrock-based cascades. As the river exits the narrow section of the gorge, it starts to get slabbier and drops over successively taller tiers. Just before the base of the falls the river splits around a small island and veils over the final and largest part of the falls, a 50 foot slide. Unfortunately very little, if any of this can be seen from the Lake Dorothy trail. Reaching the base of the falls requires traveling up the riverbed, which may not be possible with high water.
- Florence Falls is the Official name of this waterfall.
Florence Falls appears to be one of the earliest waterfalls in the Alpine Lakes area to have been named, but it is not known for whom or when it was named.
Florence Falls is accessed from the Lake Dorothy Trail at the end of the Miller River Road near Skykomish. Turn off Highway 2 at the Old Cascade Highway at Money Creek, either 2 3/4 miles west of Skykomish or 3/4 of a mile east of Grotto. Proceed a mile and turn right (south) on Miller River Road. The Lake Dorothy Trailhead is at its end about 9 miles further. Hike in along the trail for about 3/4 of a mile to the bridge across Camp Robber Creek. The trail climbs a rise then parallels the Miller River. Just under a mile from the trailhead the river is clearly visible below the trail. The easiest access to the falls is to drop down to the river and rock hop 1/4 mile upstream to the base of the falls. Circumventing the lower tier to see the upper parts of the cascades might not be possible when the river is running high and even reaching the base of the falls will likely entail getting wet (or might not even be possible at all) if the river is anything other than trickling.
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