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Madcap Falls is the second to last waterfall along the Paradise River. The 34 foot tall cascade has been the source of an inordinate amount of speculation and surmising of the true location due to what appears to be an error on the part of the USGS in mapping the falls. One source places the falls at the mouth of Tatoosh Creek, but having scoped out that area myself I saw no evidence of a waterfall of any size there (though I could have missed something). More likely is that this really is Madcap Falls and it was simply marked too far upstream. However, counter to this idea, when I marked the location of the falls with my GPS, it turns out to be the exact point where Carter Falls is mapped - so this could mean that there is indeed a mapping error, or that this waterfall is actually just an upper section to Carter Falls and Madcap Falls really is found upstream. A third but much less likely theory (which I didn't have time to debunk or verify on my most recent visit) is that the falls originally named for Henry Carter are actually further downstream than what the Park Service and USGS currently recognize. I have given a little more thought to this idea after discovering three separate maps dating from the early 1900’s that show Carter Falls much further downstream than is presently thought, but I will continue to have certain reservations about such a theory until I can explore the area a little more thoroughly. For the time being, this one will continue to carry the name of Madcap.
- MADCAP FALLS is the Official name of this waterfall.
Madcap Falls is accessed along the Wonderland Trail from the Carter Falls trailhead, just down the road from the entrance to the Cougar Rock campground in Mt. Rainier National Park. Drive 8 miles east of the Nisqually entrance, or 6.5 miles west of the turn off to Paradise, to the marked trailhead. The trail starts off crossing the ever-changing Nisqually River (the bridges over which may occasionally be out). After climbing above the river, the Wonderland trail parallels the Paradise River for 1.1 miles to Carter Falls at a signed viewpoint. Proceed about 20 seconds past Carter Falls to a fenced viewpoint above this rushing cascade of the Paradise River.
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