The Taylor River is a river in
King County
King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...
in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
.
Course
The river starts at the outlet of
Bear Lake. The river drops over a small waterfall before entering
Deer Lake. After exiting Deer Lake, the river drops over another waterfall, this one much larger than the first, before entering the largest and best of the three lakes on the Taylor River,
Snoqualmie Lake
Snoqualmie Lake is a lake in King County, Washington. It is an expansion of the Taylor River and is located a short distance downstream from Deer Lake. It is the largest of the three lakes along the upper reaches of the Taylor.
The lake can ...
.
After exiting Snoqualmie Lake, the river drops over another good sized waterfall as it drops over the headwall below the lake. Near the bottom, the river receives the creek that drains Nordrum, Judy and Carole Lakes. The river then turns from west to northwest before soon turning west again. The river receives three large tributaries, Big Creek,
Otter Creek and Marten Creek, all of which drop over large waterfalls before entering the river. After receiving Marten Creek, the river turns south towards its confluence with the Middle Fork
Snoqualmie River
The Snoqualmie River is a long river in King County and Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington. The river's three main tributaries are the North, Middle, and South Forks, which drain the west side of the Cascade Mountains near the town ...
. Shortly before entering the river, it receives one more major tributary, Quartz Creek.
Hiking
There are several hiking trails in the area. The main and most popular one is the Taylor River Trail, which is an old road that ends near the base of the headwall below Snoqualmie Lake. It begins before a bridge over the river just upstream from the mouth of Quartz Creek. The trail follows the river relatively closely, crossing Marten and Big Creeks on bridges that have views of both creeks’ respective waterfalls (Otter Creek is also crossed, but there is no bridge and no falls are visible from the crossing). The trail ends 1.2 miles after the Big Creek Bridge.
The unmarked and rather rough trail to Marten Creek is found branching off the Taylor River Trail shortly before the Marten Creek Bridge.
There is a short side trail that branches off the Taylor River Trail shortly after the crossing of Otter Creek that leads to
Lipsy Lake
Lipsy Limited, also known as Lipsy London, is a British fashion and cosmetic retailer. The company sells women’s and children’s apparel, accessories, beauty products and homeware through external websites and in-store sales.
The Lipsy brand ...
and the beautiful slides of
Otter Falls that drop directly into the tiny lake.
The
Dream Lake
Dream Lake is a high alpine lake located in Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado, located east of the continental divide.
The lake is at the base of Hallett Peak and access is via the Bear Lake (Colorado), Bear Lake trail head. It i ...
Trail branches off the Taylor River Trail shortly after the Big Creek Bridge. The trail follows the creek steeply up to the lake and is all but non-existent in some areas.
At the end of the Taylor River Trail is the start of the difficult Nordrum Lake Trail, a rough route that leads to remote Nordrum Lake and also provides access to Carole and Judy Lakes, to nearby back-country lakes.
See also
*
List of rivers in Washington
This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Washington.
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin. Respective tributaries are indented under each larger stream's name and are ordered downstream to upstream.
Fraser River (British ...
External links
*
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Rivers of King County, Washington