So, if you are looking for a place to photograph some of the most picturesque waterfalls in the country, then you need to plan a trip to the Pacific Northwest. For me, my adventure in chasing waterfalls started after they began a phased reopening of our State and National parks following the closures during the pandemic.
With just a little free time on my hands, I did exactly what I teach all my Milky Way students to do: location, location, location, do your research and find the best places to photograph. With that being said, I know Google can be helpful, but it’s not the best resource for planning a weekend of driving, stopping, and driving again around the Pacific Northwest. I ended up going old school and went to a bookstore, found a couple of resources, and ended up purchasing “Waterfall Lover’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest” by Gregory A. Plumb. What I loved best was that the book was broken down into geographical sections. This allowed me to plan my weekend trips, which gave me the best opportunity to make the most of my free time.
Lacking the knowledge that a lifetime resident of Washington or Oregon would have, it made it even more important to have a resource that differentiated which waterfalls were easily accessible and which required a little more work for photography.
For this assignment, it was probably the most difficult for me to choose a photo to upload. I spent over 4 months exploring and photographing waterfalls all over the Pacific Northwest. There was one location that I returned to over and over again, and that was Sol Duc Falls in the Olympic National Park. Located just a short distance from Lake Crescent, tucked back amid a lush rain forest of old-growth trees. To get to the waterfall, it is just a short hike down a very well-maintained trail, probably no more than 2 miles round trip. This photo was taken from the bridge, but please continue and take the trail to the left for a magnificent view of the water cascading down the rocks and under the footbridge.
