Snoqualmie Falls from Below

We live just a few miles away from Snoqualmie Falls – an uber popular scenic attraction in the Seattle area.  It is beautiful.  Since we moved here the hydroelectric plant at falls has been undergoing major renovation so the hiking paths down to the base of the falls has been closed. Not a huge loss for us, we’ve only hiked down once and that was before we even moved to the northwest.  Everything recently reopened so we thought we’d take the kids on the hike to the bottom.  The kids goofed off a bit while Justin read the map.

We (as in me and the girls) were worried when we read that the hike back up is like climbing up a 30 story building and that many people get to the bottom of the falls and then can’t hike back up.  We walked down anyhow and were pleasantly surprised to find there was a parking lot down near the base, which meant that when we were done Justin could hike up to the van then drive down and pick us.  My legs were already getting painful and itchy (you recall I am allergic to exercise) so that was a relief. 

We continued past the hydroelectric plant and down the boardwalk to the falls viewpoint.  I’m sure there's a lot to be learned from looking at the actual plant, but until someone in our family actually has an interest in hydroelectricity I think we’re good skipping over it.  

To be honest the viewpoint is so far away from the bottom of the falls that the view really isn’t that spectacular.  I was surprised that there were several people that ignored the warning and jumped over the boardwalk to get a closer look.  Next time I think we’ll just stick with the views from up top instead.  

Drew and the girls hung out with me at the parking lot while Jason and Justin hiked up to the van.  Apparently, the hike wasn’t nearly as intimidating as the sign indicated because we didn’t have to wait long til they picked us up.