Hopkins Creek

Hopkins Creek is a beginner-friendly canyon featuring 9 drops and an impressive 250' waterfall. The approach is primarily on trail, the off-trail navigation and bushwhacking are friendly, easy exit, and the creek walking is straight forward. Hopkins has a similar canyon profile to Munra Creek in the Columbia River Gorge as it's open and non-committing.

Turn off onto Silverbrook Road and park in the pullout at the intersection. There's room for several vehicles. From the parking area, walk north up Silverbrook Road 200ft. Note the first driveway on the right and the obvious trail heading up into the forest. Do NOT park here as it may upset the local residents. This is the exit trail and it's worth walking up the short 600ft to view the bottom of the last rappel. Please be respectful of the locals and avoid private property. Flow can also be checked at the highway bridge close to Silverbrook Road. From the cars, walk east along the shoulder of Hwy 12 for about five minutes. Several hundred feet after crossing Hopkins Creek watch for a dirt pullout on your left (beyond the road with houses that is on the left) and note a sandy trail blocked by fallen trees heading steeply up the embankment. Follow this dirty trail upward to reach the main trail in a couple hundred feet. The main trail is overgrown in summer, but push on through... it's not that bad and soon gets better. Follow the trail up to the end of a switchback at about 1700' - and proceed westerly off-trail until you reach Hopkins Creek. Depending on the season, you may cross a tiny seasonal stream before reaching Hopkins Creek. A good place to target is to drop into Hopkins just where a small tributary joins it at ~1800ft elevation.

The descent begins where a tributary East of Hopkins joins with Hopkins Creek. Natural anchors are abundant. Well-placed webbing exists at all drops. The creek is quite pristine and the webbing anchors low profile. . R1: 70' DCR. This line is the crux in heavy flow. Totally doable at mod high. If too high, use a dry line from a tree around the corner DCR. R2: 20' DCR R3: 20' R4: 100' DCL go under the log or split it R5: ~250' Upper Hopkins Creek Falls. You have options! The falls can be descended in 1, 2, or 3 pitches. ! Watch for rockfall at the base! Loose rocks are easily kicked down by rappelers. R6: 60' DCL R7: 70' DCL. Traverse ~25’ from sling around tree to access R7 rappel webbing. R8: 80' DCL R9: 180' DCL – Lower Hopkins Creek Falls There are 3-inch tree branches across the upper section of the falls. They don’t appear hazardous but are obstructive and should be trimmed with a saw. Significant debris and tree fall are present at the bottom of R9. Plan to land either down canyon left (DCL) or on top of the logjam. Pull from DCL. Station someone at the logjam to manage the rope tail, it will get caught in the vertical logs within the flow. The waterfall is low-angle here, which makes it easier to free the rope from the debris.