Comet Falls earns its name at high water, when Van Trump Creek launches off a cliff and fans into a long white tail that streams roughly 300 feet down the rock, wider at the bottom than the top. It is one of the tallest falls in Mount Rainier National Park, and many regulars rank it the best in the region. The full drop stacks several tiers to around 460 feet, but the main plunge is the one that stops people on the trail. Getting there is a workout: 1.9 miles from the trailhead four miles east of Longmire, climbing about 900 feet alongside the creek's polished gorge, passing smaller Van Trump Falls on the way. Go in late spring or early summer, when snowmelt gives the falls its full comet shape. Parking is tiny and fills by mid-morning, and a park entrance pass is required.
Others worth the drive in Washington.
