Little Mashel Falls Trail is a 5.3 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Eatonville, Washington that features a lake and is good for all skill levels. The trail is primarily used for hiking and nature trips and is best used from March until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
kid friendly
hiking
nature trips
forest
lake
river
views
waterfall
bugs
muddy
over grown
The recommended way to see the falls is by entering from Highway 7. Follow the yellow diamonds on the trees, and there are 2 brown signs (1 for lower and 1 pointing up the trail for the upper). Muddy areas, due to recent rains, can make this trail slippery at times, so beware and be careful at all times. The trail takes you through a set of three waterfalls. Two are medium sized and the third is very large. About 125 ft drop. Access is a little tricky but well worth it. The largest of the three major waterfalls in the gorge, the Little Mashel River drops over a small punchbowl before sliding down a smooth concave lip and veiling 125 feet into a pile of large boulders in the gorge below. If you are fortunate enough to visit the falls in the spring when the river is at it's peak, you'll encounter a spectacular wall of water and spray. In the late summer, the falls become much more placid and tame, and actually provide an opportunity to walk behind the falling water. All three waterfalls along the river here are popular locations for the locals to come and hang around.
John Nervo recorded Recording - Nov 29, 01:25 PM
easy trail 90% Jeep trail 10% single track. there are some other offshoots near the end that are not marked. it's steep going into the last leg into the ravine to the waterfall.
You will get a great work out! I brought a jogging stroller with the kiddos, no problems. Pack a sack lunch and plenty of water-it's a bit of a hike to the falls, but worth it!
The trail there isn’t very interesting but the falls are worth it. It’s in a strange place, you’re just walking down a gravel road for 2 miles to get to the real trail.
Easy trail. Main roads obviously clear and easy to walk. Closed to vehicles currently. Once on the trail to falls, some parts a bit steep, I would take my young kids but probably not older parents. Beautiful gushing falls today.
It was a great hike, we had no rain and pretty warm fall temps to help us through our little trip. It was quite the experience today with the falls. Unlike my previous attempt it wasn't as busy, so I was able to take some great photos.
Probably best when it’s been dry for a few days. There are some real muddy slippery parts in the spur sections down to the falls. Falls are beautiful! I wish there was a You Are Here mark on the map so you had an idea where you parked! Kind of a maze of roads and trails.
idk who decides what's easy but this wasn't. not small child friendly.
Alicia Lyons recorded Little Mashel Falls Trail
This was a great and easy hike for the population we were serving.
This was a nice hike for a casual outing w/ beautiful waterfalls. I actually reccomend this hike to ppl all the time. I measured it 5 miles from parking back to parking lot. If your just looking for an easy day hike or your new to hiking this is perfect.
nice Falls at the end of the hike but most of the hike is on a Logging Road which isn't my favorite type of hike
Easy marked parking with porta john. Sign pointing to trail (dirt road) is far back. Just walk around the wood line by the parking lot and turn left uphill. The trail is a dirt road for 2 miles, decent canopy for most of it then opens up to some nice view of Rainier (when its visible) super easy portion. The turn off for the falls is easy to miss. Follow the blue markings and it quickly becomes a moderate down hill until you hear the falls and it's a bit steep and muddy slippery going down to I think the lower falls. Not a lot of space for many groups. 12 people can make it seem crowded.
5-27-19, clear and sunny. Got really steep, with deep "steps" about 1/2 mile before falls. VERY slippery where it was still wet! And super narrow, steep, muddy trail at middle falls down to the rocks (lunch break and cool down in the shade). We got a late start, it was really crowded. Some teens were swimming at the upper falls, not warm enough for adults, lol. Long gravel road boring walk back to the car was not the greatest end, but the falls were worth it, it was pretty neat. I'd go back.
Magnificent!! I wouldn’t consider this a hike. It’s more of a walk on a dirt road most of the way. You can go behind one of the falls. Super cool!!
Luce Fam recorded Little Mashel Falls Trail
Not really easy once you get to falls. Steep. Muddy. Slick.
Alex Northrup recorded Little Mashel Falls Trail
Surprisingly fun trail once you make it off the main road. Slippery rocks, make sure you go to the middle falls!
It was a long hike in on a gravel trail. Pretty boring until you get about a half mile from the falls. Then the trail gets pretty steep in some places. The recent rain has made the end of the trail muddy and slippery. The views of the waterfalls are amazing and totally worth it. We went behind the waterfall with our kids (the middle falls). They loved that part. Overall we ended up hiking about 6 miles. Be prepared.
Great short little hike if you come from the top (the pullout at Alder Cutoff Rd) instead of where this map starts, otherwise it's a lot of gravel road. :/ The falls have a lovely little watering hole where you can swim and have a generally good time in the Summer!
Great trip for kids and families. my best experiences are in the shoulder seasons when the crowds are light but the weather is nice enough the kids can play in the water.
It was great. Pretty steep, we went over the train tracks to find the service road to get to the Falls trail. We had all the kiddos with I’m 26 and my hubby 40 Our kids- 7, 5, 3, and almost 2
Riley Fisher recorded Little Mashel Falls Trail
The trail itself is nothing special but the little falls are beautiful and great for swimming and climbing
This was a fun hike in and out. We had a picnic at the middle falls and it was great for my 7 year old. We will probably do this again and go to the upper falls next time
