Covell Creek an easy hike near Cispus River

Covel Creek Falls falls 165 feet over a basalt cliff.

An impressive waterfall up Covell Creek, just a mile from paved roads, is easily accessible by foot. In fact, hikers actually have the opportunity to hike underneath it on their way to Burley Mountain .

To reach the waterfall, take Highway 12 to Randle and turn south on WA 131 towards Mount St. Helens. About one mile south of Randle, take the left hand fork that travels up the Cispus River Valley. Follow the signs to the Cispus Learning Center and drive about 50 meters beyond the main entrance of the camp. There is a small pull-out on the right and directly across the road is the Covell Creek Trail.

The trail starts out gently through the mature one-hundred-year-old forest that was created after the great Cispus burns of 1902 and 1919. Stay of the left side of the creek, but don't be tempted by any of the well-maintained trails turn to the left return you to the Cispus Center.

A poorly-maintained but well-used one-hundred-yard portion of the trail will drop you off on what appears to be an old road. Veer to the right and the creek will stay within sound and sight all the way to the 60-foot waterfall. It the meantime, you will be dazzled by several smaller waterfalls along the scenic little creek.

Near the main waterfall, there is a trail that turns to the left up to near the top of the ridge. For about 1/4 mile, the route is pinned between dacitic to ryholitic lava cliffs and a precipitous drop-of down into the canyon below. The base of the cliffs holds several small caves that some hikers may find fascinating. It is definitely worth a small side trip to explore the geology away from the falls themselves.

The waterfall is hardly a secret due to the generations of Western Washington kids that have attended the various kind of camps at the Cispus Learning Center. It is worth a visit whether you have been there before or not.

Hiking above the falls, the trail follows along a cliff that contains a number of caves that were once very important to Native Americans.