The Elakala Trail at Blackwater Falls State Park is a short 0.6 mile out-and-back trail that leads from the Blackwater Falls Lodge to Elakala Falls and back to Blackwater Lodge Road. The trail starts on the southern side of the parking lot next to Blackwater Lodge and heads gradually downhill to Elakala Falls.
Elakala Falls is technically a series of four waterfalls; however, the
first waterfall is the only one you can see from this trail and is 35
feet tall. Elakala is the 2nd most popular waterfall in the park, thus making this a really popular trail during warmer months. The trail sits directly next to the Blackwater Lodge, so if you're staying at the lodge, this trail is a must-do.
Lookout Points: Just beyond Elakala Falls are a few lookout points into the Blackwater Canyon below; however, these lookout points aren't all that interesting. You can only see glimpses of the hills across the canyon.
Trail Length: Listed here is 0.6 miles to cover a 'true-thru hike' of the trail, but this hike can be anywhere from 0.2 miles to 0.6 really. If you just want to see Elakala Falls, you can hike down to the viewing area, and hike back up to the parking lot. If you plan to see more of the trail and take it all the way to the road, you'll end up hiking about 0.6 miles back to parking - either by road or back on the trail.
Note: The GPS for this data does not follow the Elakala Trail 100% near the end - we ended up taking a left-hand turn at the sign that says "Park Road 1/4 Mile"; however, this trail does continue on for about 0.2 to 0.3 miles beyond that sign. If you continue following the trail, to the right, it end at Blackwater Lodge Road, but slightly further west than where this ends.
MyHikes is an indie web platform aimed to make exploring public trails easier for everyone. The site has no investors and is owned and operated by one person, Dave Miller / Admin. As the main contributor and doer-of-all-things for MyHikes, I share my experiences from hikes and backpacking trips on MyHikes for fun on a volunteer basis and I believe that public trail information should be available to everyone.
It takes a lot of time 🕦, money 💰, and effort (including espresso shots ☕) to run MyHikes, including hiking , mapping , writing , and publishing new trails with high-quality content... along with building new features, moderating, and site maintainance . I simply ask that if you find our content helpful or useful when planning your next adventure that you consider making a small donation to help keep the site running.
You can become a Supporter* (*MyHikes user account required) to unlock perks for as little as $0.83/month with a 1-time non-recurring payment 👍 Or you can simply Donate any amount without a MyHikes user account. Otherwise, telling your friends about MyHikes is the next-best thing to a donation - both quick and free 😄
Thanks for visiting MyHikes and have a great hike! ✌