Washington Cascades
Washington · height not recorded · Mount Rainier National Park · Last verified 2026-05-15
Flow at Washington Cascades is 268 cfs today, around its seasonal average. October averages 9 snow days here.
Right now
Streamflow
268 cfs
COWLITZ RIVER AT PACKWOOD, · 1h ago
Overnight
36°F
Mostly Cloudy
Sunday
40°F
Rain And Snow Likely
Today's daylight
Sunrise 7:38 AM · Sunset 6:03 PM · 10h 25m
Other park alerts
- Winter Season Closures(Information)
- WILDFIRE CLOSURES: Sunrise & northern trails.(Danger)
- Fryingpan Creek Bridge Replacement Project: Trail Impacts(Information)
Snapshot built 5m ago. Sources: USGS · NWS SEW.
No verified photo yet
Washington Cascades 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.
Washington Cascades is in Washington. It drops along The Paradise River. The falls are inside Mount Rainier National Park, a US National Park. The base sits at roughly 4,795 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 17 minutes from Packwood. A trail — Narada Falls 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.
The Paradise River in Washington state, United States, is known for having a total of eight major 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 14226500 · 11.8 mi away
COWLITZ RIVER AT PACKWOOD, WA
— Distant gauge — proxy reading, not on the same drainage.
View live discharge data →
30-day streamflow
Below 30-day average↻ Same date last year: 1,050 cfs · 24% 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 | 31 | 22 | 20 | 23 |
| Feb | 30 | 20 | 14.1 | 22 |
| Mar | 33 | 22 | 8 | 20.6 |
| Apr | 38 | 25 | 6.7 | 17.6 |
| May | 47 | 31 | 4.4 | 12.6 |
| Jun | 57 | 39 | 4.3 | 5 |
| Jul | 69 | 47 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Aug | 69 | 48 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep | 62 | 44 | 3.8 | 0.8 |
| Oct | 48 | 34 | 8.6 | 9 |
| Nov | 34 | 24 | 17.3 | 18.8 |
| Dec | 31 | 22 | 17.6 | 21.8 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Cascades (this page) | — | — | — | N | — |
| Ruby Falls | 0 mi | — | — | N | — |
| Narada Falls | 0 mi | 187 ft | — | N | — |
| Narada Falls | 0 mi | — | — | N | — |
| Myrtle Falls | 1 mi | 60 ft | — | N | — |
| Tato Falls | 1 mi | — | — | N | — |
Questions visitors ask about Washington Cascades
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
Is Washington Cascades in a national or state park?
Yes — Washington Cascades is inside Mount Rainier National Park. See the park page for fees, hours, and current conditions.
Can I bring my dog to Washington Cascades?
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 Washington Cascades from a major city?
Washington Cascades is 12 miles from Packwood (about 17 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in Washington
Where it is
46.7784, -121.7400
Sources and live status
Where we got the data, and where to check current conditions before you drive.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_River_waterfalls
Wikidata (Q123142456)
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q123142456
Last verified by Fallspots: 2026-05-15
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