Hard Scrabble Falls
Washington · 280-foot drop · Last verified 2026-05-15
Flow at Hard Scrabble Falls is light today (1 cfs) — visit for the geology, not the volume.
Expect dry conditions today — don't drive out for this one. Flow is at 0.7 cfs (bottom 0% of the last 30 days, vs. 1.6 cfs average). The 7-day NOAA forecast shows no significant rain.
Right now
Streamflow
0.61 cfs
OLSEN CREEK NEAR BELLINGHAM, · 1h ago
Overnight
52°F
Mostly Cloudy
Friday
70°F
Mostly Cloudy
Today's daylight
Sunrise 5:16 AM · Sunset 9:11 PM · 15h 55m
Snapshot built 9m ago. Sources: USGS · NWS SEW.
No verified photo yet
Hard Scrabble Falls is a waterfall in Whatcom County, Washington. It drops roughly 280 feet. Access details and conditions have not yet been verified in person by Fallspots — the data on this page comes from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Hard Scrabble Falls sits in Whatcom County, Washington. The base sits at roughly 971 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 4 minutes from Acme. A trail — Waterfall Trail — runs within 100 meters of the marked location. No public parking is recorded within 2 km, so a longer approach is likely. It draws modest visitor attention — busier weekends, quiet weekdays. Source records come 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 12202300 · 5.7 mi away
OLSEN CREEK NEAR BELLINGHAM, WA
View live discharge data →
30-day streamflow
Below 30-day average↻ Same date last year: 0.6 cfs · 127% of last year — significantly wetter
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 | 43 | 32 | 9.2 | 10.2 |
| Feb | 42 | 30 | 6.8 | 12.6 |
| Mar | 48 | 33 | 5.7 | 10.2 |
| Apr | 53 | 36 | 4.7 | 6 |
| May | 60 | 43 | 4.2 | 0.6 |
| Jun | 66 | 50 | 3.2 | 0 |
| Jul | 73 | 55 | 1.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 73 | 56 | 1.7 | 0 |
| Sep | 68 | 52 | 3.7 | 0 |
| Oct | 57 | 44 | 7.2 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 46 | 35 | 11.1 | 5.6 |
| Dec | 42 | 30 | 9.3 | 11.8 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hard Scrabble Falls (this page) | — | 280 ft | — | — | — |
| Anderson Falls | 4 mi | 167 ft | — | — | — |
| Silver Creek Falls | 9 mi | 420 ft | — | — | — |
| Whirlpool Falls | 9 mi | — | — | — | — |
| Racehorse Falls | 10 mi | — | — | — | — |
| Chuckanut Falls | 12 mi | — | — | — | — |
Related waterfalls
Similar height (~280 ft)
- Kanim Falls280 ft
- Buttermilk Falls279 ft
- Goat Falls282 ft
- Tribulation Falls277 ft
- Salt Creek Falls286 ft
Questions visitors ask about Hard Scrabble Falls
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
How tall is Hard Scrabble Falls?
Hard Scrabble Falls is 280 feet (85.3 m) tall. Height is sourced from OSM.
How far is Hard Scrabble Falls from a major city?
Hard Scrabble Falls is 3 miles from Acme (about 4 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in Washington
Where it is
48.7599, -122.2294
Sources and live status
Where we got the data, and where to check current conditions before you drive.
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 Hard Scrabble 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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