Deception Falls / Iron Goat Trail/ Stevens Pass/Wanatchee River

Three of my favorite places on earth! Deception Falls is right on Highway 2 just West of Steven’s Pass. It is a short or a longer hike through old growth forests with splendid falls around every corner! The main falls are the big attraction, but there are some smaller ones into the woods that are very worthy. This is a great hike for kids and pups and older people as it is light on the legs!

The old train tressel bridge across the Wenatchee River leads to a nice path along the River and through the woods. We followed it quite some way and think it goes all the way to the dam. It was getting very hot so we turned back in hopes of going to the Iron Goat Trail.

We found the old highway to the ghost town of Wellington where the Great Northern Railway avalanche disaster of 1910 took two trains off the mountain, and nearly 100 lives were lost. There is a concrete snow shed and an interpretive site worth seeing right outside Wellington. We walked past many of the waterfalls that spray over the retaining walls of the old snow sheds. This is a pretty walk and it is like going back through time to a different era. I suggest you read ” The White Cascade” by Gary Krist before you hike this one so you have a real background of the lives of the men and women on the avalanche trains. We only hiked a small piece of the 9 mile trail, but it is good tread and very worthwhile!