There are three main waterfalls in Olympic National Park, each varying in difficulty for terrain and distance of the trail leading to the waterfall. We visited all three waterfalls, and each was super pretty, let’s break them down.
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Madison Falls Olympic National Park
Duration: .2 miles
Elevation: 46 feet
Terrain: paved
Location: 48.0456, -123.5894 | Madison Falls Trailhead
Madison Falls is the easiest of the waterfalls in Olympic National Park, and the entire path to the falls is paved. With minimal elevation gain and distance, this can be reached by most ability levels!
While visiting Madison Falls can literally be done in under ten minutes from the time you park your car until the time you leave, it’s better to plan a little bit more time in the area. We suggest sitting and just taking in the sound of the waterfall and admiring the plants around from the bench at the end of the trail.
Take your time walking up to the waterfall and you may find a hidden cave! If you have more time, you can walk up the road to where the road was completely washed out from a flood. It’s crazy to see!
Even more crazy is continuing up the trail past where the road is washed out and seeing the ranger station and village that’s now like a ghost town. Those that are willing can continue on the 22-mile round-trip hike or bike ride all the way up to Olympic Hot Springs from the Madison Falls Trailhead.
Getting to Madison Falls
Currently, and what seems like indefinitely, the road up past Madison Falls is closed. There are signs all along Highway 101 when approaching this area that say the road is closed. It’s not closed though until after Madison Falls.
There are also signs that say there is limited parking in the area. And sure, while the parking lot isn’t as big as the Storm King Area or Hurricane Ridge, it’s still really large! Both large RVs and loads of cars can fit in the area… and can turn around if people park properly!
Don’t let the signs scare you away. It’s very much open, and there is very much room for everyone!
Marymere Falls Olympic National Park
Duration: 1.8 miles out and back
Elevation: 500 feet (with most being at the stair section to viewpoints)
Terrain: mostly flat, level ground with stairs at end
Location: 48.0581, -123.7889 | from the Storm King Ranger Station
Marymere Falls Nature Trail is a relatively flat trail leading through the forest to the waterfall. For the first portion of the hike, there is minimal elevation gain, the path is compact, and really doesn’t have any fall hazards.
However, this is the only one of the waterfalls in Olympic National Park with stairs to the waterfall viewpoint.
Once you pass the turn-off to Storm King, the path gets closer to the river, and here you’ll see roots to step over, and a few steps to climb. From there, the trail leads up and over a bridge, where you’ll have a handful of steps to climb down before walking on more uneven ground to another bridge.
After the second bridge, to get to the Marymere Waterfall viewpoint, you must climb a number of steps. This section of steps is short, but steep. There is a railing on the side to assist in getting up the trail, and a couple of benches to sit on.
The steps lead to two different viewpoints, creating a little loop, before you continue back the same way you got there, across the two bridges and back along the flat nature trail.
We tacked on hiking to Marymere Falls at the end of our trek up to Storm King (read about it here), so we really didn’t slow down and take in much of the nature trail side of this hike. However, the trail was great and would be the perfect short hike in the national park.
Sol Duc Falls | The “Most Difficult” Waterfalls in Olympic National Park Hike
Duration: 1.6 miles out and back
Elevation: 200 feet
Terrain: mostly flat with roots
Location: 47.9622, -123.8499 | Sol Duc Falls Trailhead
We say “most difficult” here in quotes because this waterfall hike, like the other two waterfall hikes in the park, is pretty easy. It has minimal elevation gain. And, while the trail does have some fall hazards and roots to climb over in a few areas, it’s pretty manicured and clean!
The Sol Duc Falls trail is a really pretty trail looping through the forest, ending in a bridge crossing to the viewpoint of the waterfall. Turning around 180 degrees on the bridge though was my favorite part of this hike.
Don’t get me wrong, the waterfall is really pretty.. especially how it comes down in three fingers, however, the opposite view, when the lighting is right is to die for!
We visited Sol Duc Falls in mid-September and were there a few hours before sunset. The lighting on the trail was gorgeous, and the million-dollar view was the fern canyon just downstream of the waterfall. A 180-degree turn on the waterfall viewpoint bridge offers views of the canyon!
Sol Duc Falls is a popular spot for backpackers to camp right at the falls, and it’s also a popular section of a much bigger trail system of overnight backcountry camping in the Seven Lakes Basin. Be sure to snag a backcountry camping permit from the visitor’s center before heading up to hike if you plan on staying overnight.
Aside from the long overnight hikes, another popular hike is Lover’s Lane. It follows the Sol Duc River with chances of seeing salmon swimming side by side and spawning.
Towards the beginning of the Sol Duc Section of Olympic National Park is Salmon Cascades. You don’t want to miss out on this viewpoint. It’s a super simple walk to a deck overlooking a river section where salmon jump 11 feet upstream to cross up a small waterfall. This is hands down one of the coolest things to experience and an absolute must if visiting Sol Duc Falls.
Waterfall Photography Camera Gear
You’ll quickly notice all our camera gear is PeakDesign. We shoot with a Canon R5 (find it here) and love the camera. The PeakDesign gear we recommend is compatible will all cameras though. So no worries if you’re shooting with something else!
Camera Tripod | find current price here
Our tripod of choice is the PeakDesign travel tripod. It’s lightweight and compact, making it easy to fit in a backpack. We also love that there’s a built-in phone attachment to set your phone up on the tripod as well. This tripod is an investment, but it’s a good one.
To get the long exposure shots, a tripod is necessary so your camera can be completely still, allowing for no movement in the photo besides the water flowing.
Camera Backpack Clip | check current prices here
Oh my goodness. What a game-changer in the world of hiking with a camera! This clip attaches to the strap of your backpack, and with one easy-release button, you can release your camera to get the shot before easily clipping it back to your pack.
It’s probably our most used piece of camera equipment when hiking.
The Clutch | check current prices here
This camera strap is just for going around your hand. It comes in clutch, get it!?, when shooting in iffy places. It also just gives that extra piece of mind that you won’t drop your camera when shooting. The clutch is low profile and an essential in our book for the protection of your camera!
More On The Olympic Peninsula + Olympic National Park
Free Camping in the Olympic National Forest (coming soon)
Quinault Rainforest | it’s better than the Hoh Rainforest in our opinion
Storm King Hike | not for the weak ones
Getting to the Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is where Olympic National Park is. It can be a bit awkward to get to, especially since the national park has no roads actually through it. You’ll basically be taking a road trip on US Highway 101 in Washington to explore Olympic National Park.
You’ll want to fly into Seattle or Portland (Seattle is closer distance-wise, but awkward with ferries), and then rent a car to drive around the Peninsula.
If you’re taking ferries, be sure to book them in advance, so you don’t have to wait in standby for sometimes multiple ferry crossings as we did. Keep in mind, opting out of ferries means taking toll roads out of Seattle to Olympic National Park!
To avoid all this, you can simply fly into Portland, head to Aberdeen, Washington, and then continue up the loop of Olympic National Park.
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