So what's is better to beat the heat then hikes?
Well sitting pool side for one but Saturday, I decided to head up to a old favorite that Noah and I did last year with a couple of my friends.
Franklin falls is pretty much a hidden jewel. It rest quite literately under I-90
Franklin Falls it self
That bridge is I-90
Passing over the highway, you'd never even know that it was there.
We actually cheated on this one as well. The trail really begins at the Denny Creek campground but because we're sneaky, I know of a location about 1/2 way up the trail where the trail almost bisects the roadway. So starting out was/makes it generally easy.
If you're gonna do this hike, watch out for the massive amount of Devils Club (or Devils Walking Stick as I have seen). Devils Club is a real nasty plant that looks pretty innocent but the underside has spikes on it that are not so forgiving.
One of the many plants. If you look at the stem, you'll see why they're not something to mess with.
Any who, we finished that hike in about 40 minutes. about 10 there, 20 or so at the falls and 10 to make it back. By this time, we all could feel the temperature and humidity going up and so we decided on our second option, go to the Denny Creek water slides and so we took off.
Meandering down the road and turning into the Denny Creek campground, we found parking in the madness and started to our destination but not with out pictures at the Denny Creek Bridge.
Looking at the water above the bridge
So this isn't where the slides are I'd image
So walking up the road about a 1/4 of a mile and you hit the actual trail and then it begins. The trail it self isn't really to technical and is very family friendly. I saw many family's with young ones walking along the trail.
About 3/4ths of a mile in, you hit a foot bridge over the creek again. Nothing to spectacular.
Lot's of moving water
Tony and Sam
The Girls taking a break
There is no real length to the actual water slides, the route is actually made to go to high country lakes. I would say to get the slides, it's about 1.5 miles and to actually get to them, there is a bit of a creek crossing. Before that comes though, you come to something pretty cool/unexpected.
I-90 east goes right over the trail
We think this tree got blasted by lightning
After the overpass and tree, you pretty much slog up wards for not to much time before you begin dropping back down and finally reach the slides.
Now before I show you pictures, these aren't like water park slides, these are slabs of granite that have the creek flow over them at such a rate that when you sit down in a shoot, they carry you into the pool at the bottom. Sadly I didn't get any video or pictures but I was having to much fun in the actual slides themselves to do so.
So on the right side of this photo is where you slide down, doesn't look like much but it gets you going and shoots you into the pool at the bottom
Pretty water fall just up the trail.
So we pretty much played in them for a good hour or so before we decided to head out. Going back was easy.
So all in all, 2 really easy hikes. Both can be done with little kids, and are enjoyable for adults a like. Keep an eye on each other because the water is snow melt and is COLD! but as soon as you get use to it, it's only a little numbing.
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