Today we decided to go up the Cowlitz River to see Cowlitz Falls. We have never explored this area before so we were stoked.
We started out by heading east up WA-12 to the area around Randal where we turned off to the south. Wandering down to the Cowlitz we did find a terrific park called Cowlitz Falls Day Use Area where we stopped for a great picnic alongside the river.
After lunch we continued our search for Cowlitz Falls but we were unsuccessful. Many roads were traveled but the Falls remained elusive. After considerable wandering, we drove down to a dam and found a nice interpretive sign at the very end of the road. The sign indicated that the dam, which was built in the last century, had been built on the former location of Cowlitz Falls and the Falls really do not exist anymore. The dam had all the gates closed: they were not even letting any water out so it was pretty unimpressive.
The drives today were superb, passing through gorgeous country but we can’t explain why Cowlitz Falls is not called Cowlitz NoFalls or Even Water.
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