#GenJPtravels to Franklin Falls, Washington (#PNWHiking)

 You can find the Travel Vlog of my Hiking Day Trip on YouTube!

June 24, 2019
PNW Hiking: Franklin Falls, WA

To hear about a day consisting of: PNW hiking, coniferous trees, easy conversations, a 70-foot waterfall, and FRESH air - keep on reading!

To celebrate my first Monday out of the office (indefinitely! If you haven’t read my previous blog post, I left my full-time day job in downtown Seattle!), I wanted to get some fresh air and be outdoors.  Therefore, my best friend, Lauren (you’ll remember her from our road trip hiking adventure from AZ to UT!) and I decided to kick off the summer with a short and easy hike to Franklin Falls.

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Franklin Falls is located in the Snoqualmie Region of Washington, so just about 1.5 hours from our homes.  The hike totals at 2.0 miles round-trip with a 400 ft elevation gain. You’ll find the falls after a mile of hiking, nestled between the two viaducts of I-90.  I would highly recommend this hike if you’re just starting out with hiking, want an easy/short hike with a spectacular view, or are hiking with kids!

The weather was fair when we decided to go on our hiking adventure to Franklin Falls.  It had just recently rained a day or two before the day we hiked, so the forest floor was left a little damp.  It made some of the trail and rocks a little slick here and there, but overall, it made for a cool and even-temperature hike.  However, even if it was hot and sunny, the trees would’ve covered the trail for a large majority of the hike.

This was my first time hiking the trail in the summer.  The last time I had hiked to the falls was in February 2017 with Lucas.  Snow covered the entire trail, and the anticipated 2-mile hike turned into an 8-mile hike for us because the road to the parking lot was so covered in snow that they blocked off the roads.  Hikers were parking along the street to access Franklin Falls, but we didn’t realize that until we were about 2-3 miles in (lol!) and were left wondering where the falls were. We decided to make the long trek to the falls anyways!  We thought that since we made it that far already, we might as well keep on going!

If you ever get the opportunity to hike Franklin Falls in the summer OR the winter, I highly recommend this hike either way! The view is rewardingly STUNNING and because hikers frequent the trail regularly it’s pretty easy to navigate your way to the falls.  You'll weave your way amongst the trees and before you know it, you'll find the rushing river and will feel the mist coming off of the beautiful Franklin Falls!

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Annnd that's a wrap!

After our first hike of the season, Lauren and I went back to her place to create a list of hikes we wanted to try to do before the summer ends!  Next up is Mt. Rainier National Park - so make sure to tune in to my future blog posts or YouTube channel to hear how the next adventures will go!

Cheers to living life OUTDOORS!
Gen