Carter Falls
Washington · height not recorded · Mount Rainier National Park · Last verified 2026-05-15
Carter Falls is at 1,320 cfs of flow today, on the upper end of typical conditions.
Right now
Streamflow
1,320 cfs
COWLITZ RIVER AT PACKWOOD, · 1h ago
Overnight
46°F
Mostly Clear
Saturday
67°F
Sunny
Today's daylight
Sunrise 5:12 AM · Sunset 9:01 PM · 15h 49m
Other park alerts
Snapshot built 15m ago. Sources: USGS · NWS SEW.
Carter Falls is a waterfall in Washington. Height has not been officially recorded. Access details and conditions have not yet been verified in person by Fallspots — the data on this page comes from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Is the water flowing right now?
Most waterfall sites don't tell you this. The waterfall itself is almost never gauged, but a USGS streamgage in the same watershed can tell you whether snowmelt has started, peaked, or run dry.
USGS gage 14226500 · 11.3 mi away
COWLITZ RIVER AT PACKWOOD, WA
— Distant gauge — proxy reading, not on the same drainage.
View live discharge data →
30-day streamflow
Near 30-day average↻ Same date last year: 1,820 cfs · 73% of last year — significantly drier
Compare to nearby falls
If this one isn't the right fit, here's how it stacks up against the closest documented falls. Every column is filterable on the site — not buried in 13,000 reviews.
| Waterfall | Distance | Height | Trail | Dogs | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carter Falls (this page) | — | — | — | N | — |
| Madcap Falls | 0 mi | — | — | N | — |
| Madcap Falls | 0 mi | — | — | N | — |
| Christine Falls | 1 mi | 69 ft | — | N | — |
| Nahunta Falls | 1 mi | — | — | N | — |
| Narada Falls | 1 mi | — | — | N | — |
Questions visitors ask about Carter Falls
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
Is Carter Falls in a national or state park?
Yes — Carter Falls is inside Mount Rainier National Park. See the park page for fees, hours, and current conditions.
Can I bring my dog to Carter Falls?
No — dogs are not allowed on trails here. Most National Park trails prohibit pets to protect wildlife. Service animals are an exception per ADA.
How far is Carter Falls from a major city?
Carter Falls is 12 miles from Ashford (about 17 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in Washington
Where it is
46.7648, -121.7700
Sources and live status
Where we got the data, and where to check current conditions before you drive.
Wikidata (Q121010066)
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q121010066
GeoNames (5789271)
https://www.geonames.org/5789271/
Last verified by Fallspots: 2026-05-15
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Marina and Theo verify pages one road trip at a time. If you've been to Carter Falls recently, your local knowledge improves the page for everyone. Pick the kind of contribution that fits — every email lands in our inbox and gets read (and credited when we publish).
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