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Zigzag Falls
   Pierce County, Washington

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

This is by far the nicest of the seasonal falls encountered along the Highway 410 / 123 corridor on the east side of Mount Rainier National Park, as well as being one of the easiest waterfalls in the park to enjoy. The falls occur along an unnamed stream which skips 89 feet down to a nice pool immediately next to Highway 123 between the Owyhigh Lakes and Shriner Peak trailheads. The stream drains from a small portion of Shriner Peak and will flow well early in the year but usually dries out entirely by the end of July (possibly earlier in some years).

HISTORY AND NAMING INFORMATION

  • Zigzag Falls is the Unofficial name of this waterfall.

As this waterfall is more or less ephemeral in nature it is not thought to have ever been graced with a name. We've called it Zigzag Falls after the curvy nature of the highway in the general area.

LOCATION AND DIRECTIONS

Zigzag Falls can be found about 5.7 miles south of Cayuse Pass along Highway 123 in Mount Rainier National Park. Southbound travelers will have the falls almost directly at their backs when passing, so keep a sharp eye out. A pullout on the west (downhill) side of the road just south of the falls provides parking for 3-5 cars.

Latitude

46.82592 N

Longitude

-121.54244 W

Elevation

3120 feet

USGS Quadrangle

Chinook Pass 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

Chinook Cascades

0.32 miles

Lower Double Peak Falls

0.908 miles

Stafford Falls

0.93 miles

Deer Creek Falls

1.042 miles

Double Peak Falls

1.212 miles

Shriner Falls

1.266 miles

Chinook Creek Falls

1.731 miles

Boundary Creek Falls

1.766 miles

Unnamed Waterfall

1.993 miles

Unnamed Waterfall

1.993 miles

 

 

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Magnitude

15.79

IWC

Unrated

RATING

25.36 %

 

Photo of Zigzag Falls

[ View Pictures ]

 

PHYSICAL MAKEUP

Height

89 feet

Tallest Drop

89 feet

Num. Drops

1

AVG. Width

20 feet

Pitch

80 degrees

Run

25 feet

Primary Form

Veiling Horsetail

 

Watershed

Cowlitz River

Stream

Unnamed

AVG. Volume

5.0 cfs

Source

Runoff

Seasonality

5 months

Best Flows

April to July

 
 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Search for Zigzag Falls on Google

Information on this waterfall at the World Waterfall Database

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

       
 

UPDATE HISTORY

Feb 19, 2013

Edited basic information about this waterfall

 
 
 
 
 

 

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