Sunset Falls

Sunset Falls is the final of the three waterfalls on the South Fork Skykomish River. The falls drop 104 feet (32 m) in a long, narrow, powerful chute. The river is thought to attain speeds of 60 kilometres (37 mi) an hour and the chute is nearly 300 feet (91 m) long. In high water, because of several potholes in the falls, water can sometimes shoot out as much as 30 feet.^[1]

Sunset Falls, Washington From "Amtrak Empire Builder" - panoramio

Sunset Falls
Location	Near Index, Snohomish County, Washington
Type	Slide
Total height	104 ft (34 m)
Number of drops	1
Average width	40 ft (13 m)
Run	275 ft (91 m)
Watercourse	South Fork Skykomish River

Rescue boat descending down Sunset Falls during high flow.

Access

There is currently no public access to Sunset Falls.

Running of Sunset Falls

On May 30, 1926, daredevil stunt performer Al Faussett ran the falls in a canoe with hundreds of people watching from the rocks beside the falls. He escaped with only brief and minor inner pains. He later went on to run Eagle Falls as well as many other falls in Oregon and Idaho.

Several local kayakers, most notably Rob McKibbin and Sam Grafton have run Sunset Falls successfully. It is considered a class 6 rapid, with unavoidable and potentially deadly hazards.^[2]

References

1. "Northwest Waterfall Survey".
2. Whit Deschner. "Deathcom Six - Daredevil Al Faussett pushes the modern limits of whitewater boating". Archived from the original on 2013-01-23.

47°48′14″N 121°32′59″W