Malachite Falls
Washington · 600-foot drop · Last verified 2026-05-15
Flow at Malachite Falls is 435 cfs today, around its seasonal average.
Expect dry conditions today — don't drive out for this one. Flow is at 460 cfs (bottom 0% of the last 30 days, vs. 815.6 cfs average). The 7-day NOAA forecast shows no significant rain.
Right now
Streamflow
435 cfs
SOUTH FORK SKYKOMISH RIVER · 19m ago
Overnight
47°F
Mostly Clear
Friday
63°F
Mostly Sunny
Today's daylight
Sunrise 5:17 AM · Sunset 9:02 PM · 15h 45m
Snapshot built 8m ago. Sources: USGS · NWS SEW.
No verified photo yet
Malachite Falls is a waterfall in King County, Washington. It drops roughly 600 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.
Malachite Falls sits in King County, Washington. It drops along The valley of the West Fork. The base sits at roughly 3,703 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 18 minutes from Baring. A trail — West Fork Foss Trail — runs within 20 meters of the marked location. 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 and USGS GNIS.
The valley of the West Fork Foss River contains a fair amount of waterfalls. The river heads in a series of large lakes: Big Heart Lake, Angeline Lake, and Otter Lake- which form spectacular waterfalls as they plunge down to Delta Lake. On the valley walls downstream of Delta Lake, are found even more waterfalls.
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 mi away
SOUTH FORK SKYKOMISH RIVER AT SKYKOMISH, WA
View live discharge data →
30-day streamflow
Below 30-day average↻ Same date last year: 535 cfs · 86% of last year — similar
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 | 34 | 24 | 13.3 | 23 |
| Feb | 33 | 22 | 11.4 | 22.2 |
| Mar | 38 | 24 | 5.5 | 20.2 |
| Apr | 43 | 27 | 5 | 15.4 |
| May | 52 | 33 | 4.3 | 7.8 |
| Jun | 60 | 41 | 4.3 | 2.2 |
| Jul | 70 | 48 | 0.9 | 0 |
| Aug | 70 | 48 | 1.7 | 0.2 |
| Sep | 64 | 44 | 3.5 | 0.2 |
| Oct | 53 | 36 | 7.3 | 8.4 |
| Nov | 39 | 27 | 11.2 | 17.8 |
| Dec | 34 | 23 | 11.9 | 23 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malachite Falls (this page) | — | 600 ft | — | — | — |
| Copper Lake Falls | 0 mi | 131 ft | — | — | — |
| Upper Copper Falls | 1 mi | 39 ft | — | — | — |
| Middle Copper Falls | 1 mi | 49 ft | — | — | — |
| Lower Copper Falls | 1 mi | 46 ft | — | — | — |
| Lower Foss River Falls | 1 mi | 251 ft | — | — | — |
Side-by-side comparisons
Malachite Falls compared head-to-head with other documented falls — height, access, fees, dogs, swimmability in one row each.
Related waterfalls
On the same watercourse (The valley of the West Fork)
- Copper Lake Falls131 ft
- Lower Copper Falls46 ft
- Middle Copper Falls49 ft
- Upper Copper Falls39 ft
Similar height (~600 ft)
- Cape Horn Falls597 ft
- Nevada Fall594 ft
- Bridal Veil Falls607 ft
- Pywiack Cascade591 ft
- Linton Falls615 ft
Questions visitors ask about Malachite 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 Malachite Falls?
Malachite Falls is 600 feet (182.9 m) tall. Height is sourced from OSM.
How far is Malachite Falls from a major city?
Malachite Falls is 13 miles from Baring (about 18 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in Washington
Where it is
47.6117, -121.3300
Sources and live status
Where we got the data, and where to check current conditions before you drive.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterfalls_of_the_West_Fork_Foss_River_Valley
Wikidata (Q56709220)
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56709220
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 Malachite 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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