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Upper Comet Falls
   Pierce County, Washington

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

Upper Comet Falls may or may not have formed as a result of recent flood activity along Van Trump Creek. I had never known a waterfall to exist at this location prior to hiking there myself, but the terrain does seem like it could easily have naturally harbored a waterfall before the floods severely scoured the valley several times in the last decade. The 35 foot falls can be seen upstream from where the Rampart Ridge Trail crosses Van Trump Creek (bridge has been out since 2001). Getting close to the falls is possible, but involves rock hopping among massive boulders in the creekbed, which would certainly do nothing good to ones knees in the process. Those journeying to Mildred Point will pass this waterfall, but I wouldn't suggest going out of the way to see it if the destination of choice is Van Trump Park.

HISTORY AND NAMING INFORMATION

  • Upper Comet Falls is the name of this waterfall.

LOCATION AND DIRECTIONS

moderate access

Upper Comet Falls is seen where the Rampart Ridge Trail crosses Van Trump Creek about 1/4 mile above Comet Falls. To view the falls, hike the Comet Falls trail for 3.75 miles, staying left at the first junction at the top of Comet Falls, and descend to the crossing of Van Trump Creek. The falls will be visible upstream.

Latitude

46.79937 N

Longitude

-121.77824 W

Elevation

5461 feet

USGS Quadrangle

Mount Rainier West 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

Comet Falls

0.378 miles

Bloucher Falls

0.698 miles

Unnamed Waterfall

0.73 miles

Van Trump Falls

0.839 miles

Unnamed Waterfall

0.845 miles

Unnamed Waterfall

0.918 miles

Kautz Creek Falls

1.237 miles

East Van Trump Park Falls

1.37 miles

Lower Pearl Falls

1.401 miles

Middle Pearl Falls

1.491 miles

 

 

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Magnitude

33.46

IWC

1.18  (Class 2)

RATING

50.85 %

 

Photo of Upper Comet Falls

[ View Pictures ]

 

PHYSICAL MAKEUP

Height

35 feet

Tallest Drop

35 feet

Num. Drops

1

AVG. Width

10 feet

Pitch

90 degrees

Run

10 feet

Primary Form

Segmented Plunges

 

Watershed

Nisqually River

Stream

Van Trump Creek

AVG. Volume

75.0 cfs

Source

Glacier

Seasonality

Best Flows

Summer

 
 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Search for Upper Comet Falls on Google

Information on this waterfall at the World Waterfall Database

Search for more pictures at:
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UPDATE HISTORY

Jul 28, 2011

Added a picture(s) of this waterfall

 
 
 
 
 

 

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