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Fairy Falls is commonly thought to be the tallest waterfall in the state of Washington, and by virtue of word of mouth, one of the more commonly named falls in "tallest of" lists in encyclopedias. I suppose this could be argued, but I would refrain from calling it noteworthy, and it certainly isn’t the tallest waterfall in the state. Most, if not all references to Fairy Falls claim a height of 700 feet - with some early references even going up to 1,000 feet (which was clearly a real ballpark figure). While the falls are tall, 700 feet is a real stretch. Topographic data seems to indicate a drop of about 590 feet, with the tallest of the four tiers standing about 250 feet tall. Part of the reason the falls are so commonly name-dropped is it used to be a lot more significant than it currently is. Because the lower lobe of the Paradise Glacier, and much of the south lobe of the Williwakas Glacier has disappeared, the flow of melt water has changed such that the Paradise Glacier no longer drains into the Fairy Falls drainage area - just into Stevens Creek and the Paradise River now. With this lack of glacial water feeding the creek, the falls rely on the melting winter snowpack, and usually run dry by September when the snow is gone.
- FAIRY FALLS is the Official name of this waterfall.
It is not known where the name of the falls originated from, but the falls have been known as such since the inception of the park. Several well known photographers had photographed the falls around the turn of the 19th century, including Asahel Curtis and Darius Kinsey. Shown in one of the Curtis photos are two women clad in what appears to be Sunday dresses, so accessing the falls is (or was) obviously possible.
Located at the upper headwall of Stevens Canyon within Mount Rainier National Park. The best views of Fairy Falls are from a pullout at a sharp hairpin bend along SR 706 known as The Bench, located about 3 miles east of the turn off to Paradise, or about 6 miles west of Box Canyon. Views can also be had from a stretch of road from The Bench to just east of Sunbeam Creek. A small portion of the falls can be seen from the Skyline Trail as it climbs along Mazama Ridge as well. Access to the base of the falls would require a rough and very brushy scramble of about 2 miles up Stevens Creek from the highway.
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