About Christine Falls
Christine Falls was a conspicuous waterfall that we stumbled upon after missing the trailhead for the nearby Comet Falls. So given how easy it was to notice this waterfall, I have to believe that for most visitors passing through the Nisqually Entrance of Mt Rainier National Park, it would most likely be their first waterfall seen in the park and thus one of the most photographed subjects as well.
The road between the Nisqually Entrance and Paradise (a little hamlet where a lot of tourist activity is at) crossed over Van Trump Creek between the upper and lower tiers of this waterfall. There was a short paved trail leading to the lower viewpoint where we were able to see the main tier of the falls plunging beneath the Nisqually-Paradise Road as seen in the photographed at the top of this page.
We were also able to walk onto that bridge from back on the road where we looked upstream to get frontal views of the upper tiers of Christine Falls. I even witnessed plenty of motorists just pause on the bridge and take photos before moving on (generally when no other cars were behind).
I’ve read that the falls was named after Christine Van Trump, the daughter of a mountaineer named P. B. Van Trump. Christine was known for accompanying her father on an ascent of Mt Rainier (up to 10,000ft) despite a nervous disorder.
There are a pair of pullouts on both sides of the bridge over the falls just a little over a quarter mile east of the Comet Falls Trailhead (see Comet Falls page for more details).
The pullout east of the bridge is the larger one and can accommodate at least a half-dozen cars, I think.
As for geographical context, the Nisqually Entrance of Mt Rainier was 86 miles (supposedly under 2 hours drive) from Seattle and 50 miles (supposedly a little over an hour drive) from Puyallup. Of course with all the traffic restrictions and traffic lights, the reality was that it took at least 30-60 minutes more than what I’m quoting above.
Find A Place To Stay
Bottom up sweep from the lower viewpoint
Top down sweep from the footbridge crossing Van Trump Creek showing upper cascades upstream and more cascades as it continues downstream towards the main part of Christine Falls (not seen from here)
Related Trip Reports
Related Top 10 Lists
No Posts Found
Related Itineraries
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall
Nearest Waterfalls
