Ladder Creek Falls, Colonial Creek, and Diablo Dam
3 / 5
North Cascades – Day 3: Dams, Waterfalls, and Staying Cool
Skagit River view near road
1 / 15
Another scorcher with temps back in the 90s, so we planned the day around staying cool, or at least trying to.
That morning, we headed into Newhalem and crossed the pedestrian suspension bridge to the Ladder Creek Falls Trail leading out to Gorge Dam. The path wound through shady forest, past small waterfalls and mossy cliffs, and ended at the Gorge Powerhouse Museum. The current dam was built in 1961, but this site has been generating electricity for Seattle since the 1920s. They even blasted a two-mile tunnel through solid rock to send water to the powerhouse. Pretty wild stuff.
After lunch back at camp, we headed to a beach area near Colonial Creek Campground to cool off along the edge of the creek.
Just before crossing the bridge, we stopped at the Colonial Creek Falls trailhead, a short roadside pull-off with access to a tall waterfall. This wasn’t just any waterfall — Colonial Creek Falls drops an incredible 2,568 feet, making it the tallest waterfall in the continental U.S.!
I came prepared with my bathing suit for Colonial Creek, but after dipping a toe into that glacial water…no thank you. Instead, we put our camp chairs up in the shade, watched the bold ones take the plunge, and enjoyed the breeze coming off the lake.
Then we caught an unexpected treat: A female Common Goldeneye paddled by with ducklings in tow. They kept popping underwater like tiny fuzzy submarines, ranking incredibly high on the adorable scale.
We wrapped up the day by driving across Diablo Dam, one of the few dams you can actually drive over.
That morning, we headed into Newhalem and crossed the pedestrian suspension bridge to the Ladder Creek Falls Trail leading out to Gorge Dam. The path wound through shady forest, past small waterfalls and mossy cliffs, and ended at the Gorge Powerhouse Museum. The current dam was built in 1961, but this site has been generating electricity for Seattle since the 1920s. They even blasted a two-mile tunnel through solid rock to send water to the powerhouse. Pretty wild stuff.
After lunch back at camp, we headed to a beach area near Colonial Creek Campground to cool off along the edge of the creek.
Just before crossing the bridge, we stopped at the Colonial Creek Falls trailhead, a short roadside pull-off with access to a tall waterfall. This wasn’t just any waterfall — Colonial Creek Falls drops an incredible 2,568 feet, making it the tallest waterfall in the continental U.S.!
I came prepared with my bathing suit for Colonial Creek, but after dipping a toe into that glacial water…no thank you. Instead, we put our camp chairs up in the shade, watched the bold ones take the plunge, and enjoyed the breeze coming off the lake.
Then we caught an unexpected treat: A female Common Goldeneye paddled by with ducklings in tow. They kept popping underwater like tiny fuzzy submarines, ranking incredibly high on the adorable scale.
We wrapped up the day by driving across Diablo Dam, one of the few dams you can actually drive over.