Deception Falls and Its Sudden Turn
Near Stevens Pass Area, Washington
Pull over here and you can hear Deception Falls before you see it. Just off the highway at about milepost fifty six, Deception Creek makes its last wild run before joining the Tye River, tumbling roughly ninety four feet down a staircase of granite. Its most dramatic moment comes near the bottom, where the whole creek slams into a rock wall and cuts a sudden ninety degree turn, throwing spray into the old growth forest.
A short interpretive loop, about half a mile long, threads through the trees beside the water, and a shorter, wheelchair accessible path leads to a bridge over the upper falls. The creek is born high in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and gathers snowmelt on its way down, so in late spring the falls run loud and full. The name Deception is an old one on Northwest maps, that appears on maps from the railroad era, though nobody seems to know exactly why it was chosen.
For travelers crossing Stevens Pass it makes a perfect short stop, a chance to stretch, breathe cold mist, and stand among trees that were already old when the first railroad crews came through these mountains.
