It has been a little while since the last hike and even though I am tracking when we can travel again internationally without a lockdown, it appears that it is not happening any time soon!

So, let’s go on a hike!  Despite living in the Seattle area for ~ 30 years, I had never heard of this place previously.

Here is another recent hike to Gold Creek in the snow if interested.

It is just as easy and accessible as Gold Creek Pond, and it is a delight to take a quick drive and check it out.

It is called Franklin Falls and it is just 2.5 miles off the I-90 expressway at exit 47.  In the winter months, it does snow quite a bit, but that makes it more fun.  It can get a little tricky to drive if you do not have AWD car.

We arrived early, which is a best practice, because despite the winter months and snow, the trail will will get full of people and packed quite quickly.  We could have parked in the empty 60 car parking lot, but I also predicted that once it got full of visitor cars and icy, it would be very difficult to get out of the lot safely since the snow/slush was quite deep there.

Although trail was quite scenic and very fun to find all the places the water was running and exploring additional trails that veered to different places. What was disappointing on this trip, is that only 75% of the people wore masks.  And when you encounter people not wearing masks, and you step away to the side of the trail to avoid them, they look at you are the weird ones and they treat you as being silly for being cautious due to COVID-19 recently spreading wildly.

But…it is all worth it when you get to the falls!

If you go early enough, it can pretty much have the falls to yourself!  It is quite fun an amazing to be inches away from the falls.

and yes, you will get very wet and cold very fast, but it is a great quick hike when you need a quick getaway from the lockdown with a fast and safe hike.

If you want to check out some other great hiking locations in the snow, check out my postings on Cougar Mountain, Kendall Lakes and Gold Creek Pond.