Deception Falls
Washington · height not recorded · Last verified 2026-05-15
Flow at Deception Falls is 166 cfs today, around its seasonal average. October averages 7.2" of precipitation here — expect high flow.
Right now
Streamflow
166 cfs
SOUTH FORK SKYKOMISH RIVER · 37m ago
Overnight
40°F
Mostly Cloudy
Sunday
46°F
Chance Light Rain
Today's daylight
Sunrise 7:37 AM · Sunset 5:59 PM · 10h 22m
Snapshot built 14m ago. Sources: USGS · NWS SEW.
Deception 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.
Deception Falls is in Washington. It drops along Deception Creek. The base sits at roughly 1,991 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 20 minutes from Baring. OpenStreetMap shows a trail within 30 meters of the marked location, though the name isn't recorded. No public parking is recorded within 2 km, so a longer approach is likely. This is one of the more frequently visited falls in the state by our popularity model. Source records come from OpenStreetMap.
Deception Falls is a 94-foot (29 m) waterfall that flows from Deception Creek just over Stevens Pass, approximately 1856 feet above sea level, located in the U.S. state of Washington. Shortly downstream Deception Creek empties into Tye River. While flow may run dry in the late season, Deception Falls trail remains open in the Summer and Falls seasons. Deception Falls is located north of Interstate 90 in the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest. A hiking trail leads from a parking area to the falls.
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 12131500 · 7.7 mi away
SOUTH FORK SKYKOMISH RIVER AT SKYKOMISH, WA
View live discharge data →
30-day streamflow
Below 30-day average↻ Same date last year: 751 cfs · 23% of last year — significantly drier
When to go (from the climate data, not our opinion)
Monthly averages from Open-Meteo's reanalysis dataset (2020–2024). Highlighted months are when we think the waterfall is at its best — but the numbers are the numbers regardless.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip (in) | Snow days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 31 | 12.9 | 8.8 |
| Feb | 39 | 28 | 12.1 | 9.8 |
| Mar | 45 | 30 | 5.4 | 7 |
| Apr | 49 | 33 | 4.7 | 3.8 |
| May | 58 | 40 | 4.3 | 0 |
| Jun | 67 | 48 | 4.3 | 0 |
| Jul | 76 | 54 | 0.9 | 0 |
| Aug | 76 | 55 | 1.6 | 0 |
| Sep | 71 | 50 | 3.5 | 0 |
| Oct | 59 | 43 | 7.2 | 0 |
| Nov | 45 | 33 | 11.2 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 41 | 30 | 11.3 | 8.6 |
Source: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API · ERA5 reanalysis 2020–2024.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deception Falls (this page) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Monkey Cage Falls | 0 mi | 16 ft | — | — | — |
| Alpine Falls | 1 mi | — | — | — | — |
| Sunray Falls | 8 mi | 394 ft | — | — | — |
| Shoestring Falls | 8 mi | 984 ft | — | — | — |
| Engle Falls | 9 mi | 489 ft | — | — | — |
Questions visitors ask about Deception Falls
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
How far is Deception Falls from a major city?
Deception Falls is 14 miles from Baring (about 20 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in Washington
Where it is
47.7146, -121.1945
Sources and live status
Where we got the data, and where to check current conditions before you drive.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deception_Falls
Wikidata (Q83966712)
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q83966712
GeoNames (5791995)
https://www.geonames.org/5791995/
Last verified by Fallspots: 2026-05-15
Been there?
Marina and Theo verify pages one road trip at a time. If you've been to Deception 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).
Add a tip
Something we should know — best time, parking trick, that hidden viewpoint.
Share a photo
Have a CC-licensed image on Wikimedia or Flickr? Send the link.
Report a fix
Wrong height, closed trail, broken link — tell us what we got wrong.
We don't collect your email. Replies go directly to hello@fallspots.com.