Bridal Veil Falls Hike in Washington: Trail Guide, Parking & Tips

Looking for one of the best waterfall hikes in Washington? The Bridal Veil Falls hike near Index, Washington, is a moderately challenging 4-mile round-trip trail that leads through a mossy forest to a spectacular waterfall cascading down a 100-foot rock face.

Located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Bridal Veil Falls is a popular hike near Stevens Pass and can also be combined with the longer Lake Serene trail. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know before hiking Bridal Veil Falls, including trail difficulty, distance, elevation gain, parking, directions, what to expect on the trail, and our best tips for visiting.

We’re sharing our best tips and a lot of photos from our hike!

Bridal Veil Falls Hike at a Glance

• Distance: 4 miles round trip
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Elevation gain: 1,000 feet
• Hike type: Out-and-back
• Time: About 3 hours
• Location: Near Index, Washington
• Trailhead: Lake Serene Trailhead
• Parking: Northwest Forest Pass or America the Beautiful Pass required
• Dogs: Allowed on leash
• Restrooms: Pit toilets available at the trailhead
• Best for: Waterfalls, forest scenery, mountain views, and a moderately challenging day hike

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Bridal Veil Falls is an impressive 1,328 foot waterfall. The water flows from Lake Serene all the way down to the South Fork of the Skykomish River. The waterfall has four distinct tiers, two of which are clearly visible from the hike. When you look out into the distance away from the falls, you’ll have excellent views of the North Skykomish Valley. Directly behind Bridal Veil Falls, you’ll see Mount Index.  

 

How to Get to the Trailhead

Bridal Veil Falls is located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. You can reach the trailhead by turning off of Highway 2 onto Mount Index Road.  Follow the road a little ways and you’ll see a sign for the Lake Serene trail. Follow that sign and you will see a large parking lot. 

Note: When we recently went to Bridal Veil Falls, Google Maps told us to follow Mount Index Road for quite a ways past the parking lot. That is incorrect. You’ll want to park at the Lake Serene sign. 

Parking Information

The main parking lot at Bridal Veil Falls is right next to the trailhead and contains a pit toilet restroom. The parking lot for Bridal Veil Falls can fill up quickly. Although it’s a large lot, if you’re planning to hike on a weekend, you might find that there are no more parking spaces.

During our last visit to Bridal Veil Falls, we parked in an overflow parking area that is a short hike away from the main lot. There were many cars parked alongside the road as well. Just be careful not to park in any prohibited areas. Parking further away from the parking lot added some extra distance to our hike, so you’ll want to keep that in mind too.

Trail Guide

The hike starts out by following an old forest road. The road is wide and it’s a fairly mild ascent.

One of the things I love about this hike is all the moss on the trees.

There’s a few water crossings along the way. They are fairly manageable, but just be cautious with your footing.

At about 1.5 miles in, you’ll see a fork in the trail and a sign. If you keep to the left, you’ll head up to Lake Serene. (We’ve done that trail before, and it’s significantly harder.) If you stay to the right, you’ll continue on to Bridal Veil Falls. Be careful to pay attention to this sign and go the right way!

Once you pass the sign, you’ll start the portion of the trail with the most elevation gain. You’ll head up quite a few stairs!

When you reach the top, you’ll be rewarded with an impressive view of Bridal Veil Falls! We went to the falls in the late spring, and the water was really raging! 

         

There’s also some cabin ruins near the end of the hike to Bridal Veil Falls, but we didn’t see them. We’ll have to look more carefully next time!

Adding the Lake Serene Portion

We hiked Lake Serene on a separate occasion, and it’s also a beautiful hike. The hike is significantly longer (8.2 miles roundtrip), so make sure you have enough hours of sunlight to complete it. When we last hiked Lake Serene, there was still a lot of snow at the top. You may need microspikes. Read recent trip reports to make sure you’re prepared. We think it would be pretty difficult to combine both the Bridal Veil Falls hike and the Lake Serene hike, unless you are in good shape and arrive early enough to complete them both before nightfall. 

Some of our other favorite hikes in Washington State include the Colchuck Lake trail and the trail to Franklin Falls!

Our Tips for this Hike

• If you don’t have an annual Northwest Forest Pass, be sure to pre-purchase a day pass. You can purchase one online and print it from home so that you have it with you when you’re ready to park in the parking lot. 
• Read recent trip reports to inform you of recent trail conditions. You can read them at the bottom of the WTA hike description. 
• This is a very popular hike, and the parking lot can fill up quick on summer weekends. We recommend arriving early. If the parking lot is full, there is an overflow lot a tad bit further down Mount Index Road.
• Wear comfortable hiking boots. The trail might have a lot of water on it in places, so it’s good to have waterproof boots.
• Pack the 10 Essentials whenever you go hiking.
• Follow Leave No Trace principles. Definitely don’t litter.
• Bring enough water to stay hydrated.
• Bring a waterproof layer for the mist at the top. We hiked on a warm day, but it was freezing at the top and we got drenched!
• Take a photo of the trail map before you start your hike. It’s good to have the map with you for safety reasons. You can also download the trail map in advance while you still have cell service.

How Hard is the Hike?

The Bridal Veil Falls hike is considered moderately difficult. The trail is about 4 miles round trip with approximately 1,000 feet of elevation gain.

The beginning of the hike is relatively gradual, but the trail gets considerably steeper as you approach the falls. The final section includes rocky terrain and several flights of stairs, so you’ll want to be prepared for a more challenging climb near the end.

For most reasonably active hikers, the distance isn’t the biggest challenge. The elevation gain and steep sections are what you’ll probably notice most. Give yourself plenty of time, especially if you’re stopping frequently for photos.

Nearby Restaurants

Espresso Chalet

After you’ve completed your hike to Bridal Veil Falls, we recommend heading east on Highway 2 for just a few minutes. You’ll find the Espresso Chalet on your righthand side. Grab an espresso, latte, coffee, or tea. You might also want to get one of their Bigfoot Cookies – you definitely earned it! We love this espresso stand because the view from the seating area is absolutely breathtaking. It just might be the best place ever to have a cup of coffee.

The Espresso Chalet also has lots of merchandise from the movie Harry and the Hendersons, which was filmed in the area. I grew up watching that movie, so there’s definitely some serious nostalgia at this espresso stand!

J&L BBQ in Monroe

If you’re headed west back home on Highway 2, we recommend that you stop in Monroe for J&L BBQ. We ordered the brisket, pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and corn bread. We think it might just be the best barbecue we have ever had! It was a great meal after hiking Bridal Veil Falls.

Nearby Lodging

If you’re looking to stay the night in Index, there are a few cabin-style places to choose from:

• Index River Roost: This vacation home has 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, with a gorgeous view of the river.
• Timber Creek Cabin: This home has 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, with views of the creek and a large stone fireplace. 
• Three Enchanting Riverfront Cabins: This property has several bedrooms, plus a sauna and a hot tub.

Summary

We really enjoyed our hike up to Bridal Veil Falls. We felt that it was just the right difficulty level for what we wanted to hike that day. We had a good workout, but it didn’t completely drain us. The view of the falls was definitely impressive! We also loved hiking through the moss-covered forest. Every part of this hike was enjoyable!

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