Getting Started @ Lewis River Trailhead (Going NE) | Gifford Pinchot National Forest Washington | 4K

I did this on May 18, 2024. There are two main Hiking Approaches to tackling this PREMIUM zone of Gifford Pinchot National Forest.....one is the "Completionist Method" of doing the Full Lewis River Hike (details about this method are in the paragraph below). The other, frankly much more common, is the "Cherry Picking Method" of breaking up the 3 Lewis Falls (Lower, Middle & Upper) into 3 Short Hikes by moving your car to each Closest Trailhead and making the Hikes as short & efficient as possible.

If doing the three "Cherry Picking Method" Hikes, here is a Video of Each Hike:

Lower Lewis Falls - https://youtu.be/cUXNjeMF5xI
Middle Lewis Falls - https://youtu.be/rO3QzLWVS5w
Upper Lewis Falls - https://youtu.be/6XHoyZYDBAY

If you are are a Wilderness Adventuring Purist and want to commit to the "Completionist Method", the Lewis River Trail is approximately 15 Miles One Way Point-to-Point and is one of the MOST PREMIUM WATERFALL ZONES in the Entire USA! The most common route (IF DOING THE WHOLE HIKE) is to start at the SW Trailhead near the Bridge and hike NE past the clear stars of the area which are Lower, Middle & Upper Lewis Falls which are spread out miles apart from each other along the Lewis River Trail. I also think Upper Copper Creek Falls is pretty amazing and a bit underappreciated, it is just before Middle Lewis Falls going North. I would recommend prior to starting your NE hike at the Lewis River Trailhead proper, it is worth going the opposite direction to Curly Creek Falls Viewpoint as a short out and back tangent before the main thrust of the Hike. There are many places you can get up close and personal with Lewis River for water refill (depending on your equipment) and cold water cool off. The Lewis River Trail ends at Quartz Creek which is worth checking out on its own merit, it has an extended rocky shoreline in both directions from the bridge overlook and is a worthy destination in itself.

If doing the "Completionist Method", here is the Full Hike Video:
https://youtu.be/1ePXi1hiH1w

Here is the Video of the 3 Waterfall Highlights only, Lower, Middle & Upper Lewis Falls:
https://youtu.be/lDtOD39gfXY