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Rainy Lake Falls
   Chelan County, Washington

[ Physical Makeup ]  [ Pictures ]  [ Maps ]  [ Update History ]

Rainy Lake is one of the most popular destinations along the North Cascades Highway due to its easy access. But you don't only get an exceptionally scenic alpine lake, you get to see one of the better waterfalls in the North Cascades at the same time. Flowing out of a pair of small lakes and the remnant of the Lyall Glacier, the small stream feeding Rainy Lake cascades down a narrow gorge and hurtles over 800 feet to a steep talus slope before entering the placid waters of the lake. Though pictures do not convey the true size of the falls, even in the late summer when the water flow is greatly diminished, the crescendo of the falls is plainly audible across the lake - over half a mile away from the viewpoint. The ease of access allows all to enjoy this destination, so don't pass it up when in the area, especially early in the summer when the falls will be roaring.

HISTORY AND NAMING INFORMATION

  • Rainy Lake Falls is the Adopted name of this waterfall.

LOCATION AND DIRECTIONS

moderate access

Rainy Lake Falls is located just south of Rainy Pass along Highway 20 in the Wenatchee National Forest. The trailhead is located at the Rainy Pass picnic area, at the summit of Rainy Pass, 36 miles east of Newhalem and 22 miles west of Mazama. Park anywhere you can, and find the trail sign near the entrance to the picnic area, and proceed a very easy mile to the lake overlook and the falls.

Latitude

48.49694 N

Longitude

-120.74583 W

Elevation

5844 feet

USGS Quadrangle

McAlester Mountain 7 1/2"

Online USGS Topographic maps on Terraserver

Aerial Photographs: Terraserver | Flash Earth

Download KML

Open this location in Google Earth

OTHER NEARBY WATERFALLS

Name

Distance

Lewis Falls

2.793 miles

Black Peak Falls

5.25 miles

 

 

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Magnitude

50.98

IWC

1.74  (Class 2)

RATING

65.82 %

 

Photo of Rainy Lake Falls

[ View Pictures ]

 

PHYSICAL MAKEUP

Height

850 feet

Tallest Drop

300 feet

Num. Drops

3

AVG. Width

80 feet

Pitch

77 degrees

Run

400 feet

Primary Form

Tiered Horsetails

 

Watershed

Chelan River

Stream

Unnamed

AVG. Volume

25.0 cfs

Source

Glacier

Seasonality

Best Flows

May to August

 
 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Search for Rainy Lake Falls on Google

Information on this waterfall at the World Waterfall Database

Search for more pictures at:
Flickr | PBase | Webshots | Smugmug

       
 

UPDATE HISTORY

Jul 27, 2011

Added a picture(s) of this waterfall

 
 
 
 
 

 

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