Gilligan Creek Falls – A Quiet Little Gem on the Edge of the Cascades

 

Hike stats

Distance: 2.5 miles round-trip (road walk) Elevation gain: ~350 ft Difficulty: Easy

Some waterfalls wait for summer to show off. Gilligan Creek Falls is not one of them. I went in mid-November after a week of cold rain, and the falls were absolutely roaring.

 

Getting there & parking 

1. Drive east on Highway 20 to Sedro Wooley and turn right  onto Highway 9 south. 
2. Turn right onto South Skagit Highway and drive for about 5 miles. 
3. Turn right onto Old Day Creek Road.
4. Drive 1.0 mile on Old Day Creek Road (paved, then good gravel).
5. Look for the second gated logging road (the first one is usually overgrown and blocked with brush). The correct gate is wide, obvious, and has PUD Water related signs. NO restroom.
6. Park along the shoulder near the gate (room for 3–4 cars if everyone parks tight).
7. Tip: Highway 9 North → Old Day Creek Road route is the fastest and most straightforward way from Everett or Marysville.
8. Walk up the gated road, stay left at the only fork, and in about 1¼ miles (25–30 min easy walk, small incline) you pop out right at the falls.

 

 

The Hike 

I laced up and started walking up the wide gravel logging road. The first half-mile is completely open, giving you sweeping views across the Skagit River valley toward Mt. Baker and the distant Cascade foothills. On a crisp fall day the river shines silver far below, and the cottonwoods along its banks were glowing gold against the dark evergreens.

 

 

After the road bends left and you take the obvious left fork, everything changes. You walk under a canopy of big-leaf maple and alder, and suddenly you’re on what feels more like a real trail than a road. The ground is carpeted in freshly fallen yellow and orange leaves that muffled every footstep. It’s quiet except for the steady sound of water growing louder ahead.

 

The road ends unceremoniously at Gilligan Creek. There it is, two perfect tiers crashing down a narrow gorge. The upper 35-foot drop splits around a huge mossy boulder and rejoins halfway down in a horsetail fan, then plunges the final 17 feet into a swirling pool. In November the volume was impressive; sheets of water exploded off the rocks and filled the little canyon with mist and that low roar you feel in your chest.

Just downstream you’ll notice the Skagit PUD diversion pipe and intake, this creek literally becomes drinking water for the valley below. The area has had rock slides in the past (one took out the old bridge years ago), so stay on the solid rocks and don’t get too close to the edge. The rebuilt footbridge is sturdy, but the banks are still loose.

 

I sat on a log for a few minutes just listening. No one else was there the entire time. In spring or summer this is probably a popular spot, but in mid-November I had the whole gorge to myself.

If you’re looking for an easy, pretty fall hike that ends with a surprisingly punchy waterfall, and you don’t mind a simple road walk, put Gilligan Creek on your list. Bring a thermos, wear something bright orange (hunting season), and enjoy the sound of the roaring waterfalls.

 

Quick tips

• Best time right now: November–early December when flow is high and leaves are down
• Parking: very limited at the gate, carpool if you can
• No facilities, pack it in/pack it out
• 1¼ miles each way, took me 45 minutes round-trip with lots of photo stops

Gilligan Creek Falls might not be the tallest or the most famous, but on a chilly autumn afternoon it was exactly what I needed. Sometimes the little ones hit the hardest.