Rainbow Falls State Park is a public recreation area on the
Chehalis River. It is situated off
Washington State Route 6
State Route 6 (SR 6) is a long State highways in Washington, state highway in Pacific County, Washington, Pacific and Lewis County, Washington, Lewis counties in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The highway, which ext ...
and is approximately east of the town of
Dryad
A dryad (; el, Δρυάδες, ''sing''.: ) is a tree nymph or tree spirit in Greek mythology. ''Drys'' (δρῦς) signifies " oak" in Greek, and dryads were originally considered the nymphs of oak trees specifically, but the term has evolved t ...
,
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 o ...
.
The
state park's feature of shoreline, the waterfall for which the park is named, and some of the last standing
old-growth
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...
trees in the Chehalis Valley.
History
Rainbow Falls was used by the
Upper Chehalis people as a fishing site for
lampreys
Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like su ...
.
The
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
built the park and its log structures in 1935. In 2007, the park suffered severe flooding which destroyed bridges along the Willapa Hills Trail
[ as well as the park's main entrance.]
Geology
The falls are located on the Chehalis River and the waters pour over basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
rock.
Activities and amenities
The park offers camping, fishing, and swimming, and contains of hiking trails.[ Visitors to the park can access the 56-mile ]Willapa Hills Trail
The Willapa Hills Trail is a intercounty rail trail in the U.S. state of Washington that is part of the Willapa Hills State Park. Following an east–west route alongside State Route 6, the tract links Chehalis and South Bend, traveling throu ...
via a spur trail.
The annual Pe Ell River Run ends at the park. Held since 1978, the event consists of entrants buying or building water crafts and floating down the Chehalis River from Pe Ell. Riders can float over the waterfall that still remains in the park despite severe flooding damage due to the Great Coastal Gale of 2007
The Great Coastal Storm of 2007 was a series of three powerful Pacific storms that affected the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia between December 1, 2007 and December 4, 2007.
The storms on Dece ...
.
References
External links
Rainbow Falls State Park
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Rainbow Falls State Park Map
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
{{authority control
Parks in Lewis County, Washington
State parks of Washington (state)
Civilian Conservation Corps in Washington (state)
Protected areas established in 1935
National Park Service rustic in Washington (state)