The payoff of a National Recreation Trail along Holland Lake in the Swan Valley: a mountain creek falls framed by the Mission and Swan ranges.
Mid May through mid July
Big water window
in a typical year
Snowmelt
What drives it
Holland Creek
Climatology
Data on this page
Holland Creek is ungauged
USFS Flathead
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 Holland Falls, and when
Holland Creek gathers snowmelt off the Swan Range, so the falls peaks in late spring and early summer and quiets through August. Our snowmelt label is editorial; the Forest Service page describes the trail rather than the hydrograph. The lakeshore walk makes this one worth doing at any flow.
Typical best flow: Mid May through mid July
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What the agency itself says
The trailhead for the popular and easy Holland Falls National Recreation Trail is near the campground. The 1.6-mile trail climbs 750 feet, following the shoreline of Holland Lake to the base of Holland Falls waterfall.
Flathead National Forest (US Forest Service)Multnomah Falls in autumn: a Columbia Gorge falls that keeps respectable flow year round, and the standard against which most falls seasons get measured. “Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Multnomah Falls, fall color - 3” — Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region — Public domain
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Right now
Current flow at Holland Falls
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
The Holland Falls National Recreation Trail runs 1.6 miles and climbs 750 feet along the Holland Lake shoreline to the base of the falls, per the Forest Service, from a trailhead near the campground about 25 miles from Seeley Lake.
Spring melt at full volume (Palouse Falls, Washington). Holland Falls keeps the same short, snow-fed season in Montana's Swan Valley. “04-15-14-palouse” — Dsdugan — CC0
Common questions
Holland Falls flow season FAQ
The reliable big-water window is Mid May through mid July. Holland Creek gathers snowmelt off the Swan Range, so the falls peaks in late spring and early summer and quiets through August. Our snowmelt label is editorial; the Forest Service page describes the trail rather than the hydrograph. The lakeshore walk makes this one worth doing at any flow.
Holland Creek has no USGS gauge near the falls, so the seasonal pattern above is the flow guide for Holland Falls, and Flathead National Forest (US Forest Service) is the source for current conditions on the ground.
By late summer it drops to a modest cascade; the roar is a May, June and early July event. No gauge exists on Holland Creek, so this page runs on the seasonal pattern.
Flathead National Forest (US Forest Service). The Holland Falls National Recreation Trail runs 1.6 miles and climbs 750 feet along the Holland Lake shoreline to the base of the falls, per the Forest Service, from a trailhead near the campground about 25 miles from Seeley Lake. Trail status, closures and safety rules are theirs, and their page is linked on this one; nothing here overrides what they publish.
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
The last undammed falls on the Kootenai River and one of the largest free flowing falls in the Northwest, dropping 90 feet in under a mile below a swinging bridge, on flow released from Libby Dam.
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 Flathead National Forest (US Forest Service). National picture: waterfall season across the US → Hero image: “04-15-14-palouse” — Dsdugan — CC0
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