"I would definitely recommend this trip to a friend."
The Franklin Falls trail, nestled in second-growth forest, is gorgeous, despite the fact that I-90 runs along side it, somewhat out of sight, (but often within hearing distance...). I have hiked it twice. The fist time was my first "real" hike. (excluding a rail-trail in my native Wisconsin) The second time, which I'll describe here, was great fun.
The trailhead is at the Denny Creek campground, just off of I-90, and just a vertigo-inducing, insanely sharp switchbacking forest service road ride to the community of Snoqualmie Pass. Anyhow, once you start out, you pass a small scramble-path maybe 20 feet down to a lagoon in Denny Creek. Soon, you'll come to another path to enormous, water smoothened boulders, smack up against the whitewater, just yelling for a picnic. Across from this spot are a few private cabins, and a naturally formed rock waterslide of sorts. Keep going, and there are several more spots like this.
The creek access soon ends, as the trail gains mode! st elevation, complements of many stairs. In a dark, tree-covered part of the way, you'll encounter a huge cedar tree. (Go ahead, hug it!) Very shortly after the tree, are a couple of scramble paths down maybe 90 feet of sheer granite cliffs to Denny Creek. Try them only if you have a death wish! Soon, you can hear the roar of I-90, muffled by the whitewater, which is far below the trail now. (Look closely, and spot a tiny, blue-green lagoon maybe 100 feet below. Again, don't go down there, no matter how charming it looks.
Even so, the BIG reward is coming up. Sometimes, you can have trouble discerning whether that roar you hear is I-90 or Franklin Falls. Don't trip over the big roots as you start to decend the almost 120 feet down to the falls. Now comes the dangerous part. Very carefully edge along the slippery rock, then come to a narrow, chiseled-out self in the cliffs of the cirque where the majestic Franklin Falls lies. Now, the falls are in full, spray-swept v! iew, as you make your way onto sharp and slippery rocks.
Huge sheer rock cliffs are on your right, and VERY close to the Falls, and across mossy logs is a death-defying scramble UP the cliffs! Look down at your feet, and notice an almost completely buried steel girder. Ponder what is it? and then glance up on your left, to a towering bridge supporting I-90. Except for a few trucks, Franklin Falls completely obliterates all noise from I-90. Giant boulders with little lagoons are behind you at the outlet of the small, but very deep lakelet formed by the falls.
All this ice cold water invites swimming on a hot summer day. But don't come in summer, as throngs of people come here when it's sunny. No solitude here, but you should come anyways for the extreme natural beauty. (Except for I-90, of couse!)
Note: This is backcountry wilderness travel. You are responsible for informing yourself of the hazards and taking the necessary precautions.