One of Rainier's tallest at over 300 feet, earned by a steep 1.9 mile climb that the Park Service says to save until the trail snow has fully melted.
Mid June through July
Big water window
in a typical year
Snowmelt
What drives it
Van Trump Creek
Live USGS
Data on this page
gauge 12082500
NPS Mount Rainier
Managed by
their rules govern
Trail status, closures and safety rules belong to each falls' managing agency, named and linked on every page.
The season
What fills Comet Falls, and when
Comet Falls is the payoff of upper Van Trump Creek, and its calendar is squeezed from both ends: the water peaks with the early summer melt, but the Park Service warns the steep trail is treacherous until the snow is completely gone. The practical sweet spot, big water on a safe trail, is mid June through July most years.
Typical best flow: Mid June through July
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What the agency itself says
This tall waterfall is one of the park’s most spectacular, with the highest drop falling over 300 feet.
Mount Rainier National Park (National Park Service)What a snowmelt year looks like at full send: Palouse Falls in mid April, when the Palouse River is still carrying the melt. The same falls in late August is a ribbon. Timing is most of the visit. “04-15-14-palouse” — Dsdugan — CC0
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Right now
What Van Trump Creek is doing today
Flow at the gauge now
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USGS median for Oct 15
Not published
Gauge: USGS 12082500 Nisqually River near National WA, downstream and distant, a basin-level proxy outside the park. The gauge reads the river, not the brink of the falls, so treat it as the trend line rather than a turnstile.
Source: USGS Water Services (National Water Information System). Instantaneous values and daily statistics services. U.S. Geological Survey data are works of the United States Government and are in the public domain. Gauge verified 2026-08-27.
The other half of the story: the same Palouse Falls in late August. Nothing is wrong; this is what a snowmelt river does every year once the melt is spent. “Palouse Falls 20100829” by Mark Wagner, CC BY-SA 2.5
Getting there
Access, in the agency's words and ours
A strenuous 1.9 mile climb gaining 1,200 feet from the trailhead two miles above Cougar Rock Campground on the Paradise road. The Park Service's advice is explicit: wait until the snow has completely melted from the trail.
Big vertical water in melt season (Lower Falls of the Yellowstone, NPS photo). Comet Falls trades road access for a climb, and pays it back with Rainier's tallest ribbon. “Afternoon fall light on Lower Falls from Lookout Point (54937071695)” — YellowstoneNPS — Public domain
Common questions
Comet Falls flow season FAQ
The reliable big-water window is Mid June through July. Comet Falls is the payoff of upper Van Trump Creek, and its calendar is squeezed from both ends: the water peaks with the early summer melt, but the Park Service warns the steep trail is treacherous until the snow is completely gone. The practical sweet spot, big water on a safe trail, is mid June through July most years.
This page reads the USGS gauge on Van Trump Creek (Nisqually River near National WA, downstream and distant, a basin-level proxy outside the park) live in your browser, and shows the latest flow next to the median USGS publishes for today's date, so you can see where today sits in the year. The gauge reads the river, not the brink, so treat it as the trend rather than a turnstile.
Late summer trims it back like all the mountain's snow-fed creeks, though it stays respectable into September. Early season is the roar; just mind that the agency ties trail safety to the snowpack being gone.
Mount Rainier National Park (National Park Service). A strenuous 1.9 mile climb gaining 1,200 feet from the trailhead two miles above Cougar Rock Campground on the Paradise road. The Park Service's advice is explicit: wait until the snow has completely melted from the trail. Trail status, closures and safety rules are theirs, and their page is linked on this one; nothing here overrides what they publish.
In their own words: "A strenuous hike of 1.9 miles leads to the base of the falls, gaining 1,200 feet in elevation. It is best to wait until snow has completely melted from the trail, as it can be treacherous until summer." That sentence is Mount Rainier National Park (National Park Service)'s, quoted verbatim, and their page is the place to check before you go.
Yosemite Falls in May, running on snowmelt that will be gone by late summer. The National Park Service tells visitors the falls can be dry by August, which is why every falls page here starts from its watershed. “Tourists below Yosemite Falls (39832011431)” by Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
Flow windows are typical-year climatology drawn from the driver and the agency language quoted above, not forecasts. Live readings and per-date percentiles are U.S. Geological Survey data, public domain; the above-or-below-typical line is our comparison and is labelled as such. Access, trail and safety information belongs to Mount Rainier National Park (National Park Service). National picture: waterfall season across the US → Hero image: “Afternoon fall light on Lower Falls from Lookout Point (54937071695)” — YellowstoneNPS — Public domain
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