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Trip Report    

April Hikes: 2.5 - 5 miles, 250 - 1,000 feet gain - Little Mashel Falls

April GoHike trip to the Lower and Middle Falls covering 4.5mi and 550ft of elevation gain.

Lucy Pick Lucy Pick
April 04, 2026
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • The Bud Blancher trail is in good condition and anyone can hike it. The Mashel Falls Trail was pretty muddy with a big, slippery, water filled patch at the junction between the falls trail and the spur to the river. The trail to the Lower Falls was way muddier and more slippery than the trail to the Middle Falls. We opted to skip the crib ladder down to the bottom of the Lower Falls since it looked so slippery. 

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Our group of 7 Mountaineers arrived at the Bud Blancher trailhead at 7:45 on a beautiful Saturday morning. The parking lot was mostly empty at that point and we had no problem parking. After trailhead intros, we headed off along the Bud Blancher trail at a good pace. We stopped at the two bridges over the Mashel and Little Mashel Rivers for photos and to enjoy the morning light. 

As soon as we made the turn onto the Little Mashel Falls Trail, the mud began. The trail got more rocky and roots at this point as well. We hiked to the Lower Falls first, which required a bit of foot finding in the mud on the steep downhill. We stopped short of going to the bottom of the falls since the trail was getting thick mud and very slippery. It was still a beautiful view! It was much easier to go back up the trail than it was coming down.

Next we hiked to the Middle Falls, which was much more moderate and much less muddy than the Lower Falls. We did go down to the base of the Middle Falls, which was amazing! After a 15 minute break to enjoy the view and have a snack, we headed back to the trailhead. While we only saw a couple of people hiking in, we saw many more people hiking out, including a group of about 20 people dressed as Easter Bunnies (shoutout to the bunny that gave me a candy filled egg!)! The rest of the hike out was uneventful aside from having to give two different cars directions to the trailhead. 

Overall, it was a wonderful hike with a great group on a beautiful day!