Madison Falls
Olympic Hot Springs Rd
Port Angeles, WA
A tall, mossy waterfall you can reach in five minutes on a smooth paved path, at the doorstep of the reborn Elwha River.
Madison Falls is one of those small wonders that gives a great deal for very little effort. A short, level, paved path leads in just a few minutes to a tall, slender waterfall, about sixty feet high, that slips down a mossy rock face at the edge of the Elwha Valley. Because the trail is fully accessible, it is a waterfall almost anyone can reach.
It also happens to sit at the gateway to one of the great conservation stories of the Northwest. Just up the valley, the Elwha River is running wild again after the largest dam removal in the country's history, and Madison Falls makes a gentle, welcoming first stop on the way into that recovering landscape.
What Guests Love
- A tall waterfall reached by a smooth, level, paved path in about five minutes
- Full accessibility that welcomes wheelchairs, strollers, and every ability
- A quick, rewarding stop at the gateway to the Elwha Valley and the story of its freed river
- Deep, green, mossy rainforest crowding right up to the falls
Worth Knowing
- It is a very short walk, so it pairs best with other Elwha or park stops rather than a whole day
- Elwha-area roads have been affected by flooding and washouts in recent years, so check current park access before you go
- The falls run fullest with spring snowmelt and winter rain and thin somewhat by late summer
- It is inside Olympic National Park, so the standard park entrance requirements apply
Details
Port Angeles, WA
Learn about Madison Falls
The easiest waterfall on the peninsula
The walk to Madison Falls could hardly be simpler. A smooth paved path, only about two tenths of a mile, runs from the trailhead through mossy lowland forest to a viewpoint at the base of the falls, an easy few minutes for a family, a stroller, or a wheelchair. There is an accessible restroom and picnic space at the trailhead, which makes it a comfortable stop for everyone.
The falls themselves are a graceful ribbon dropping down a fern-and-moss-covered wall, framed by the deep green of the Olympic rainforest. It is not a thundering cataract but an intimate one, close enough to feel the cool spray, and it delivers the feeling of the wild Olympics without any of the usual work.
The Elwha runs free again
Madison Falls is the front door to the Elwha Valley, and that valley has been the site of a remarkable act of restoration. For most of a century two large dams blocked the Elwha River, cutting off one of the peninsula's greatest salmon runs. Between 2011 and 2014 both dams were removed in the largest dam-removal project ever undertaken in the United States.
Since then the river has been rebuilding itself, moving sediment, rebuilding its beaches at the coast, and welcoming salmon back to waters they had not reached in generations. For the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, whose homeland this is and whose culture is bound to the river and its salmon, the Elwha's return is a restoration of far more than a fishery. Standing at Madison Falls, you are at the edge of a landscape learning to be wild again.
Wildlife and the rainforest
The forest around the falls is classic Olympic lowland rainforest, big-leaf maple and alder draped in moss, sword fern and salmonberry crowding the understory, and towering conifers overhead. It is a lush, dripping, green world even in the drier months.
Black-tailed deer move through the valley, dippers work the creek, and Roosevelt elk range the wider Elwha, sometimes crossing the roads in the early morning or at dusk. Overhead you may catch eagles and ravens, and the recovering river is drawing salmon, and the animals that follow them, back into the valley.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Port Angeles
Elwha Valley
Up the road from the falls
The recovering river valley where two dams once stood, now a place to see the Elwha running free, with trails and the site of the former reservoirs.
Port Angeles and Hurricane Ridge
About 8 miles east to town
The peninsula's north-shore hub and the road up to Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park's high, view-filled subalpine gateway with meadows and mountain vistas.
Lake Crescent
About 12 miles west
A deep, startlingly clear glacial lake ringed by forested peaks along Highway 101, with its own rare trout, lakeside lodge, and the short walk to Marymere Falls.