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Draining from the beautiful Bird Creek Meadows on the southeast side of Mount Adams, its namesake creek slowly cascades down the long, gradual slopes of the volcano losing elevation at a pace that would seem to preclude several waterfalls. Bird Creek Falls would seem to be the only one which presents itself in any sort of obvious way and given that the falls are not exactly significant this is somewhat surprising. As the road leading to Bird Creek Meadows crosses the stream, a 17-foot tall cascade can be seen dashing into a pool immediately above the bridge, while just downstream the creek accelerates down a ramp and plunges over a small undercut ledge into a large pool. Immediately below is a third drop formed largely by a logjam which seems to have caused the second tier to shrink in height.
Bird Creek Falls lies on the Yakima Indian Reservation and while publicly accessible, the Yakima Nation requires a day use recreation permit to use their land. Permits can be purchased at the Mirror Lake and Bird Lake campgrounds further up the road from the falls. Please be respectful of the land when visiting the falls and respect the rules of the tribe.
- Bird Creek Falls is the Adopted name of this waterfall.
From the town of Trout Lake, follow Mount Adams Road - which eventually becomes Forest Service Road 23 - north for 1.3 miles then bear right on FSR #80, following signs for Mount Adams, Smith Butte Sno-Park and Bird Creek Meadows. After half of a mile, bear right again onto FSR #82, following the signs to the aforementioned destinations. After 8 1/2 miles bear left onto FSR #8290, still following signs for Bird Creek Meadows. Shortly the road traverses into the Yakima Indian Reservation and becomes much rougher. Bird Creek is crossed after another 2 3/4 miles, with the falls above and below the bridge. We don't recommend driving cars past the Indian Reservation boundary because the road is in such bad shape, but if taken slowly enough it should be navigable.
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