There are lots of great cliff jumping locations. Here, I'll try and tabulate
some of the places that I've been too and know that there are good places
to jump.
Lake Serene has got to be the place that I go the most for cliff jumping.
The reason for this is that its a beautiful hike up to the lake and
the jumping spot is perfect.
There is about a 2 hour hike in to get up to the lake. This sounds like a
long time, but it is actually good since it makes it secluded and unpopulated.
The other interesting thing is that the cliff jumping spot is actually
not on the main trail. This further reduces the number of people that
will be up there at any given time.
The launch is perfect. There is a giant rock that extends into the lake.
The face of the rock actually drops away at a negative angle. This means
that in order to hit the rock, you would actually have to jump back
into the rock. This makes it ideal for trying stuff where you don't
have a lot of horizontal velocity (ie gainers). The rock is also slanted
downhill. We actually tried riding a skateboard off the end and we've
also tried skiing off on a pair of skis. The rock is also slanted at
an angle which is perpendicular to the take off angle. This means that
you can choose how big you want to go. At the shallow end, its probably
a 25 foot drop and at the higher end, its probably pushing 35 feet.
The trail that you go up is owned privately, so be sure to call the Skykomish
ranger station (phone: (360) 677-2414) to check to see if the trail is open.
Sometimes, during dry summer months, they close it to the public.
DIRECTIONS FROM SEATTLE
1. Take 520 East
2. Take I-450 North
3. Take Hwy 522 towards Monroe.
4. Go through Monroe towards Hwy 2.
5. Continue on Hwy 2 like you're going to Steven's Pass
6. Pass Sultan and Gold Bar. Turn right onto Mt. Index road (if you see
a bridge and then Mt. Index Cafe on the left, you've gone too far).
7. Take the 1st available right to the parking lot (you need a $5 trail pass)
If you ever go to Honolulu (or anywhere on Oahu), you need to take to time
to go to Waimea Bay Beach Park. This is located on the north-west end
of the island. There's a great beach where you can snorkle and sit on
the beach. Then on one end, there's a huge rock that everybody is jumping
off.
The actual drop is maybe 25-30 feet. The sketcky thing is that there are
waves to deal with. One time that I went, if you jumped when the wave
had passed, the depth of the water was 3 feed lower than if you go when
the wave is right underneath you. This caused you to actually bottom
out. Fortunately, you don't hit very hard and the bottom is completely
sand filled.
The launch is fairly small. There are only a couple of good places to jump
from and there is no running room. You also have to wait for the wind
to die down before hucking. Its not strong enough to blow you back into
the wall, but I just don't like jumping with a lot of wind, it messes
with my head.
Maui Jumping Pool
This is the best cliff jumping place I've ever seen. This is located on Maui
as you drive towards the north end of the island. You have to park on
the side of the road an hike in about 200 feet. This pool is amazing.
The water is a little murky, but it smells like guavas because the pool
is lined with guava trees, which drop their fruit into the water.
You have to hike up a pretty slippery slope to get to the launch. The launch
itself is a single rock, so once again, there is not runway. The cliff
face is just about vertical, but there is a slight part that sticks
out, so make sure you launch out. Gainers are probably not recommended.
