Cara L.
Yelp
What a fun, easy-going hike to take your pups on!
Twin Falls was only my 2nd Washington hike. (Wallace Falls was our first) And we picked it because we needed a relatively easy, quick hike to take our 10 month old puppy on for her first time. As it turns out, it was perfect for both our pups!
First of all, let me just say that it was super-easy to get here. It's about 30 minutes from downtown, which was the perfect length car ride for our youngest pup, too. Also easy? Discovery parking passes, yo! I was able to buy my day pass online and print it the night before. When we arrived, we just jotted down our license plate number and popped it in the window! Easy-peasy, just how I like it.
Side note: We wanted to get there a little before 8AM to make sure we got parking. However, we left a little late. By the time we arrived, there were two parking spaces left. We took one and the other was snatched up immediately afterward. If you want to ensure you get a lot parking spot (and not a street one), come EARLY. Like, super-shitty, "who voluntarily gets up this early"--early. Or at least a little before 8AM!
As we started our hikes, we stopped to use the restrooms at the parking lot. I hope I'm not remembering this incorrectly, but I remember Wallace Falls having flushing toilets. Twin Falls does not. You get the endless black hole toilets here that scare the ish out of me. Like, I'd rather pee outside in mud and dirt. But I also know that this is just a personal phobia I have with those types of "hole in the ground" toilets. And, TBH, I still used it anyway, and I'm still alive to tell the story. Also, no sinks or soap--just hand sanitizer that was out in 2 out of the 3 restrooms. So that kind of sucked.
On to the hike! What a gorgeous, lush trail of every shade of green imaginable! I loved the shady area covered in ferns and moss. And as you walked you'd find these mini, hidden little waterfalls in the woods (like SUPER tiny). The hike itself was not what I anticipated, but I was definitely pleasantly surprised. I guess I was expecting incline on the way up and decline on the way back. But on the way out to the Falls, it was honestly a mix of incline and decline, which was really cool! I mean, I can deal with my calves burning on some major inclines, but it's nice to switch it up and get a break.
We went on a Sunday, so the trailhead was busy, but not too busy. I'd say every 5-10 minutes we'd see someone. Many parts of the trail can get narrow near areas that just drop off. So just be careful when passing others to not lose your footing. And we saw SO MANY dogs. Almost every group of people we saw had at least one dog with them. Just keep them on a leash and you're good to go!
The views at the bridge and once you get towards the main "event" are spectacular. We stopped a few times to get pics with the dogs and such. What a beautiful place and the perfect, easy, first hike for our puppy.