Wallace Falls State Park History

Wallace Falls State Park highlights three plunging waterfalls on the Wallace River. The largest one drops 265 feet down a sheer face of moss-covered rock. The park’s busy, well-built trails are a testament to the hard work and persistence of those who dedicated themselves to its creation.

Indigenous Land

The park lies within the traditional territory of Coast Salish Indigenous people whose present-day descendants include members of the Tulalip Tribes. The Tulalip Tribes were organized in 1934 under the Indian Reorganization Act, made up of the Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Skykomish, Suiattle, Samish and Stillaguamish Tribes and allied bands living in the area.    

The Wallace River, with its headwaters in the snowy ridges of the Wild Sky Wilderness above the falls, takes its name from Skykomish Indigenous homesteaders Joe and Sarah Kwayaylsh (misspelled and mispronounced as “Wallace”), whose allotment homestead was located on the river below the falls.

Local tribes ceded ownership of the area to the US federal government in the Treaty of Point Elliot in 1855, keeping rights to harvest natural resources in their usual and accustomed places, including the lands and waters of these Cascade foothills. After government land surveys were completed, the land that makes up the heart of today’s Wallace Falls State Park passed into private ownership when it was granted to the Northern Pacific Railroad (NP) in 1901, part of nearly 40 million acres of public lands granted to the railroad by the US federal government to subsidize construction of rail lines into the western states.

NP owner James J. Hill subsequently sold over 900,000 acres of land in Washington, including Wallace Falls, to Frederick Weyerhaeuser, who soon formed the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company from his newly acquired holdings.

Making a State Park

On March 20, 1965, Governor Daniel J. Evans signed House Bill 74, directing the Washington Parks and Recreation Commission (WSPRC) to establish a state park to provide protection and access to Wallace Falls. In that bill, the legislature specifically removed the right of eminent domain to acquire the lands for the park. Unfortunately, the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company was unwilling to sell the land encompassing the falls to the WSPRC. In 1967, the legislature re-established the right of eminent domain. In 1971, 513 acres including the falls were acquired from Weyerhaeuser for $425,000.

Senator Frank Woody’s 39th legislative district encompassed Wallace Falls, and he advocated for the park’s development during his term in office from 1973 until his passing in 1977. He especially valued providing opportunities for youth and legislatively supported the Washington Youth Development and Conservation Corps (YDCC), which was administered by the WSPRC to “maintain and improve recreational areas for the welfare of the general public.”

On May 13, 1978, Wallace Falls State Park was dedicated, and the primary trail leading to the spectacular waterfall viewpoints was dedicated as the Woody Trail.

With its position at the gateway to the Cascade Mountains, many envisioned the park as a hub for recreation extending beyond the falls. In 1995, additional lands were acquired from the Department of Natural Resources and private sellers to expand the park, including the North Fork Wallace River and three mountain lakes. To provide access to the new parklands, a trail was surveyed and designed by Greg Ball, a leader with the non-profit advocacy group Washington Trails Association. His group had begun partnerships in 1993 with Washington State Parks and other agencies to perform volunteer trail maintenance on public lands. When the four-mile trail was completed after his passing, it was named in his honor, recognizing that “his legacy is not just in the work that he did, but in the work that he inspired others to do.”