Washington cliff jumping spots
Washington cliff jumping runs from lake ledges an hour out of Seattle to lava-rock river holes in the Columbia Basin and canyon walls near Spokane. Water stays cold on the west side well into July; the east side warms earlier but runs faster. The state also has the best diving towers in the Northwest for off-season practice.
26
cliff jumps
60 ft
tallest listed
18
counties
10
training pools
Showing 36 of 36 in Washington
Cliff jumps26
60 ftDiving Rock (Lake Chelan)
Intermediate Unverified 30 · 45 · 60 ft Chelan CountyThe classic Lake Chelan cliff, about 17 miles up-lake from town on the south shore just past Mitchell Creek. Boaters tie off below and scale the rock for jumps from 30 feet up to…
60 ftThe Cove (Long Lake / Lake Spokane)
Intermediate Unverified 10 · 30 · 60 ft Spokane CountyA sheltered basalt cove on Long Lake (Lake Spokane) near Nine Mile Falls with an island, a rope swing, and rock from 5 feet up to about 60. Spokane's go-to cliff spot.
54 ftMoulton Falls (East Fork Lewis River)
Intermediate Unverified 10 · 25 · 54 ft 17 ft deep Clark CountyA chain of deep pools on the East Fork Lewis River below a 54-foot arched footbridge in Moulton Falls Regional Park. The rocks around the pools give jumps in the 10 to 25-foot…
40 ftBanks Lake (Steamboat Rock)
Intermediate Unverified 20 · 40 ft Grant CountyBasalt and granite walls rising straight out of a 27-mile reservoir in the Grand Coulee. Boaters work the shoreline around Steamboat Rock for jumps from 10 to 40 feet, with bigger…
40 ftEagle Falls (Skykomish River)
Intermediate Unverified 20 · 40 ft Snohomish CountyA 25-foot cascade on the Skykomish River just east of Index with a deep green pool, granite ledges up to 60 feet, and a rope swing. It went viral on TikTok and is now one of the…
40 ftLevey Park (Snake River)
Intermediate Unverified Franklin CountyA basalt wall of about 40 feet dropping into a sheltered pond beside Lake Sacajawea (the Snake River pool above Ice Harbor Dam) at Levey Park east of Pasco. The Tri-Cities cliff…
35 ftGreen River Gorge (Kong)
Intermediate Unverified 15 · 35 ft King CountySandstone walls above a deep bend of the Green River next to the Franklin ghost town east of Black Diamond. The 35-foot ledge nicknamed Kong at Paradise Ledge is the famous one,…
35 ftLake Merwin cliffs
Intermediate Unverified 10 · 35 ft 20 ft deep Cowlitz CountyA sheer wall on the east side of Lake Merwin that runs from 5 feet at the back of an inlet to 35 or 40 feet at the mouth, going straight down into deep water. There is also a long…
35 ftLake Serene
Intermediate Unverified 25 · 35 ft Snohomish CountyA cirque lake under the north face of Mount Index reached by a stiff hike. The rock shelf at Lunch Rock gives 25 to 35-foot jumps into snowmelt-cold water.
30 ftDeep Lake (Sun Lakes-Dry Falls)
Beginner Unverified 15 · 30 ft Grant CountyA long, clear coulee lake below the Dry Falls cliffs in central Washington. The basalt walls at the northwest end have a 15-foot and a 30-foot platform over deep water, and the…
30 ftDevil's Punchbowl (Lake Crescent)
Beginner Unverified 15 · 30 ft 100 ft deep Clallam CountyA narrow, glass-clear cove on the north shore of Lake Crescent spanned by the Spruce Railroad Trail footbridge. The punchbowl drops off to well over 100 feet right at the rock,…
30 ftNaked Falls (Washougal River)
Beginner Unverified Skamania CountyBasalt shelves, a natural slide, and a deep pool below an 18-foot falls on the upper Washougal. The 30-foot cliff on the far side is the main jump.
30 ftPac-Man Rock (Yakima River Canyon)
Beginner 15 · 30 ft Kittitas CountyThe painted basalt column in the Yakima River Canyon south of Ellensburg, once a smiley face and now a Pac-Man. Ledges run up to 30 feet, with the nearby Fire Rocks closer to 40.
30 ftWhirlpool Falls (Whatcom Falls Park)
Beginner Unverified 15 · 30 ft Whatcom CountyA 12-foot punchbowl falls on Whatcom Creek inside Bellingham's city park with 20 to 30-foot cliffs around the pool. The in-town jump spot for Western students every hot week of…
30 ftWhistle Lake
Beginner Unverified 10 · 30 ft Skagit CountyAnacortes's Community Forest Lands lake on Fidalgo Island, ringed with rock outcrops from 10 feet up to nearly 70. The 30-foot wall across the water from the main trail is the…
27 ftKachess Lake (Box Canyon Creek falls)
Beginner Unverified 10 · 27 ft Kittitas CountyA small waterfall pool on Box Canyon Creek above Kachess Lake near Snoqualmie Pass, with jumps stepping from 10 to about 27 feet. Rock humps at the far south end of the lake go 25…
25 ftBig Rock (Lake Cushman)
Beginner Unverified 15 · 18 · 25 ft Mason CountyA house-sized boulder perched right beside the gravel road on the northwest shore of Lake Cushman, with a rope to help you up the back. The road side is 18 to 20 feet; walk around…
25 ftCamas Potholes (Lacamas Creek)
Beginner Unverified 10 · 25 ft 8 ft deep Clark CountyA series of scoured basalt bowls and cliffs on Lacamas Creek below the Lacamas Lake outlet, minutes from Camas. Moderately high cliffs drop into pools 3 to 13 feet deep, which is…
25 ftCooper River swimming hole (Salmon La Sac)
Beginner Unverified 10 · 25 ft Kittitas CountyA deep emerald pool where the Cooper River slows just above its confluence with the Cle Elum, ringed by smooth granite ledges and a rope swing. Jumps run 10 to 25 feet off the…
20 ftDougan Falls (Washougal River)
Beginner Unverified Skamania CountyA 19-foot sideways plunge on the Washougal River into a narrow turquoise pool, with a tall rock outcrop beside the falls used as the jump platform. One of the closest swimming…
20 ftDouglas Creek (Palisades)
Beginner Unverified 10 · 20 ft Douglas CountyA desert oasis in a basalt canyon between Wenatchee and Quincy: a small, wide waterfall, natural waterslides, and lichen-covered ledges over plunge pools. The BLM Douglas Creek…
20 ftRampart Lakes
Beginner Unverified 10 · 20 ft Kittitas CountyA cluster of tarns on a granite bench under Alta Mountain, above Rachel Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Slabs and short walls around the deeper lakes give 10 to 20-foot jumps…
20 ftSunset Falls (East Fork Lewis River)
Beginner Unverified 12 · 20 ft Skamania CountyA 14-foot plunge on the East Fork Lewis above Moulton Falls, dropping into a big pool below the Sunset Falls day-use area. Rocks around the pool give jumps up to about 20 feet,…
15 ftTeanaway River swimming hole
Beginner Unverified 20 ft deep Kittitas CountyA turquoise pool 20 feet deep or more on the Teanaway north of Cle Elum, with a big smooth rock to lounge on and jump from. A local favorite that stays quiet because it is a short…
12 ftCascade Lake bridge (Moran State Park)
Beginner Unverified San Juan CountyA wooden footbridge across the mouth of the Lagoon on the west side of Cascade Lake on Orcas Island, a short walk around the lake from the day-use beach. It sits a comfortable 10…
10 ftSnow Lake (Alpental)
Beginner Unverified King CountyThe most-visited lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, with a rocky point on the east shore that has a clean 10-foot drop into clear, very cold water. The reward at the end of the…
Training pools10
Public pools with springboards or platforms, for working on height and entries in the off-season.
33 ftWeyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center (Federal Way)
Training pool 3 · 10 · 16 · 25 · 33 ft 17 ft deep King CountyThe Northwest's Olympic-trials venue: a separate 17-foot diving well with 1, 3, 5, 7.5 and 10 meter platforms and 1 and 3 meter springboards, indoors and open year-round in…
10 ftHelene Madison Pool (Seattle)
Training pool 3 · 10 ft 12 ft deep King CountySeattle Parks' north-end indoor pool with a 1 meter and a 3 meter springboard over the deep end, open year-round. One of three city pools with a 3 m board, and the easiest one to…
10 ftMeadowbrook Pool (Seattle)
Training pool 3 · 10 ft 12 ft deep King CountyIndoor Seattle Parks pool in the Meadowbrook neighborhood with 1 meter and 3 meter springboards, open all year. Sits next to Nathan Hale High School, whose dive team trains here,…
10 ftQueen Anne Pool (Seattle)
Training pool 3 · 8 · 10 ft 12 ft deep King CountySeattle's landmark 1978 indoor pool on top of Queen Anne hill, with 1 meter and 3 meter boards and a rope swing over the 12-foot deep end. The rope swing makes it the most fun…
10 ftSouthwest Pool (Seattle)
Training pool 3 · 10 ft 12 ft deep King CountyWest Seattle's indoor 25-yard pool in the Roxhill neighborhood, with high and low diving boards over the deep end plus a spa and sauna. Year-round and rarely crowded on the boards.
10 ftTenino Quarry Pool
Training pool 3 · 10 ft 35 ft deep Thurston CountyA flooded sandstone quarry in Tenino City Park, run as a public pool since 1950: spring-fed, unchlorinated, and 35 to 80 feet deep, with a low dive and a high dive mounted on the…
10 ftVeterans Memorial Pool (Walla Walla)
Training pool 3 · 10 ft 12 ft deep Walla Walla CountyWalla Walla's outdoor 50-meter competition pool with a 1 meter and a 3 meter springboard, next to a leisure pool with geysers and a play structure. The only 3 m board in the…
10 ftWenatchee City Pool
Training pool 3 · 10 ft 12 ft deep Chelan CountyWenatchee's outdoor 10-lane, 50-meter L-shaped pool with one 3 meter and two 1 meter springboards over the diving leg, open mid-June through August. The best public 3 m board in…
3 ftColman Pool (Seattle)
Training pool 10 ft deep King CountyA heated outdoor saltwater pool on the beach at Lincoln Park in West Seattle, filled from Puget Sound and open all summer, with a diving board over the deep end and a corkscrew…
3 ftWitter Aquatic Center (Spokane)
Training pool 3 · 3 ft 12 ft deep Spokane CountySpokane's outdoor 50-meter competition pool in Mission Park on the Spokane River, with two springboards at the deep end and a separate recreation pool with a slide. The city's…
Cliff jumping in Washington: common questions
- Where can you go cliff jumping in Washington?
- SmartLeap maps 26 cliff jumping spots in Washington across 18 counties, concentrated around Puget Sound, the Cascades, the Columbia. Every listing gives the jump heights, the water depth where someone has measured it, how to get there and what the hazards are.
- What is the highest cliff jump in Washington?
- The tallest jump mapped here is 60 ft at Diving Rock (Lake Chelan). Height is not the same as safety: depth under a jump changes with the season, so check your own landing before anyone goes off it.
- Is cliff jumping legal in Washington?
- It depends on who manages the land. Spots that a land manager has closed to jumping are deliberately left off this map, and where a place has a posted rule — a height limit, a waiver, a seasonal closure — the spot page says so. Signs on site always win over anything written here.
- When is the season for cliff jumping in Washington?
- Most of it runs from mid-July into September, after spring runoff drops out of the rivers and the water has had a few weeks of sun. Early-season flows are the thing that actually kills people, not the height of the rock.
- Where can you practice jumping in Washington in the winter?
- 10 public pools in Washington have diving boards or platforms, listed on this page under training pools. A 10 meter platform is 33 ft, taller than most cliffs on this map, which makes it the best off-season practice there is.