Franklin Falls

Franklin Falls is a massive 135-foot waterfall that is extremely easy to access. The hike to the fall is only 2 miles round-trip with very little elevation gain. I have been to Franklin Falls three different times. Once in the spring, once in the summer, and once in the winter. It has looked vastly different each time. The flow is most powerful in the spring months because this is when snowmelt runs off into waterfalls, fueling them with a vast amount of water. I have captured Franklin Falls both on my DJI Mini 3 Pro drone and my Fujifilm X-T5 camera. For this hike, I used the following recipe from the FujiXWeekly app:

Franklin Falls has become so popular over the years that they had to build a new parking lot to accommodate traffic. From the parking lot, you wind down a small hill and continue towards a paved bridge that crosses over South Fork Snoqualmie River. There is a sign right before the bridge that points the way to Franklin Falls on your right. If you continue straight across the bridge, you will reach Denny Creek Trail, which leads you to Keekwulee Falls (you can read more about this hike here).

At the beginning of the trail, there are a bunch of cabins nestled along the river. I know that you can rent out some of these cabins, but I have never looked into the pricing for them. It would be nice to stay at one though and listen to the trickling of the river while being surrounded by the forest.

The hike to Franklin Falls may be a short one, but every second of it is filled with serenity. You are embraced by the forest as you walk past fungi, foliage, and several lookouts over South Fork Snoqualmie River. You can hear the river throughout the entirety of the hike and will be able to see small waterfalls cascading down it.

You will hear the roar Franklin Falls before you see it. One of my favorite things about this waterfall is that you can get close to it and swim in its pool in the summer months. In the winter, the rocks leading down to the fall get extremely slippery (obviously because winter brings icy conditions). My sister and I decided to slide down the rocks so that she could get right next to the fall. As we were sliding down, I said to her “how are we going to get back up this?!” We literally had to crawl back up on our hands and knees because if we tried to stand, we would have slipped into the ice-cold river. Having seen Franklin Falls during three different seasons, it was interesting being able to compare how much it changes throughout the year.

Note for the reader: I share these locations so that others can see beautiful places and enjoy nature as much as I do. Please be respectful of the outdoors and what condition it is in when you visit. Don’t go off trail, leave no trace, and pack out what you came in with.