The majestic White Tail Falls in Twin Peaks is first introduced to viewers during the opening credits of the Pilot Episode. In reality, the falls are known as Snoqualmie Falls in Snoqualmie, Washington. This Setting the Stage story takes a look at the falls as seen throughout the three seasons of Twin Peaks.
Page 62 of the “Twin Peaks Access Guide to the Town” describes White Tail Falls:
“More than 350,000 visitors travel to Twin Peaks every year to fish, hike, attend the county fair (and to help judge the annual cherry and huckleberry pie  contests!), go bird watching, river rafting, log rolling, and to gape at the glorious White Tail Falls, which are even taller (though not as wide) than the Niagara Falls.
Two hundred forty-eight million gallons plummet six hundred feet down the falls every hour, generating a lot of electrical energy  and an awesome rainbow on sunny days. The Packard Mill, which was situation next to the falls, originally drew its power from the torrent. Today, it is the raw power of this force of nature, the sheer drama of its beauty, that holds anyone fortunate enough to stand near by, in its spell.
The Twin Peaks Chamber of Commerce sponsors bus trips to the falls every afternoon at 3:00PM rain or shine, meet in front of the Town Hall. Just one piece of advice: wear a raincoat, rubber boots, and bring your umbrella.”
The Snoqualmie Falls, which are located below The Salish Lodge & Spa, 6501 Railroad Ave in Snoqualmie, Washington, were added to the National Registry of Historic Places on September 2, 2009. With a height of 268-feet, these majestic falls are a breathtaking sight to behold.
To the Snoqualmie people who first lived in the area, the falls are a traditional burial site. They are “the place where First Woman and First Man were created by Moon the Transformer” and “where prayers were carried up to the Creator by great mists that rise from the powerful flow.” The mists rising from the base of the waterfall are said to serve to connect Heaven and Earth. (See: Seattle Times).
To capture many of the establishing shots seen in the series, the crew used the observation deck located along the ridge. Let’s take a closer look at how these shots were used throughout the series. This article will only focus on the falls which occasionally includes views of The Great Northern Hotel.
The first glimpse of the falls is seen in the opening credits of the Pilot Episode. The scene fades from the Twin Peaks Welcome Sign to a shot that pans down from the top of the falls.
The image slows as the water splashes down at the base of the waterfall.
The only other time the falls are seen in the Pilot Episode is a wide angle panning shot that stops at The Great Northern Hotel.
Episode 1001 also included a look at the falls in the opening credits. These credits will be used in every episode in seasons 1 and 2 (except of 2001 which used a similar longer edit first seen in the Pilot Episode).
With the shorter credits, the actor’s names are superimposed differently than the Pilot Episode or Episode 2001.
The first nighttime view of the top of the falls was seen in Episode 1002. Remember this image as it will appear a few more times throughout the series.
The beginning of Episode 1003 has a “morning” shot of the Great Northern Hotel and White Tails Falls. Most likely, this shot was captured around dusk due to the position of the sun. Yet they used the shot as a morning establishing shot.
The opening shot continues down the falls with actor’s names appearing superimposed over the falls (I caught the moments between them being on screen).
I combined some of the shots from Episode 1003 into these two image collages.
An extreme close up shot of the falls is first seen in Episode 1005. This establishing shot will be used again throughout the series.
The final time the falls are seen in Season 1 is in Episode 1006 with a moody nighttime shot bathed in blue.
A brief establishing shot of the falls and The Great Northern Hotel is seen in Episode 2001. It’s a recycled shot from the Pilot Episode.
Similar to Episode 1003, the opening shot of Episode 2002 features a panning shot. This time, a medium shot of the falls are seen first with a pan up to The Great Northern Hotel.
In Episode 2004, there are two shots of the falls. The first is an extreme close up that seen shortly after Lucy Moran throws her pencil at the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department.
The close up image jumps to a shot of the falls that pans up to The Great Northern Hotel. The shot is similar to one seen in Episode 2002.
Episode 2006 has a similar close up shot of the top of the falls first seen in Episode 1002. This time, the camera pans down from The Great Northern Hotel to the falls. Colors are slightly different than in Episode 1002.
In Episode 2007, an early morning pan from the falls to the hotel is seen just before Mike the One Armed Man is shown in the lobby.
Another close up shot of the falls is used in Episode 2008 just before Sheriff Harry Truman and Agent Cooper discover the body of Maddy Furguson wrapped in plastic.
It’s important to note that it appears Maddy’s body was found at the base of the falls (hence the transitional shot prior to this scene). This scene was most likely shot in southern California (Franklin Canyon is my guess) but I have yet to identify the location. Since this scene doesn’t contain images of the actual falls, I’m not expanding on it now. Look for a separate story one day.
Episode 2010 contains another close up shot which the camera pans out to reveal two waterfalls. This transition shot takes place after Audrey Horne says farewell to Cooper in Room 315.
Episode 2013 has two shots of the falls. The first is a pan up shot from the falls to the hotel just before Ben Horne’s administrative assistant is seen running down the hallway.
The second establishing shot of the falls is prior to Ben Horne waving a sword in Bobby Briggs’ face.
The faint sounds of Ben Horne and Dr. Lawrence Jacoby singing “Dixieland” can be heard during a long shot of the falls in Episode 2014. The camera again pans down from the hotel to the base of the falls which appears similar to a shot used in Episode 1003.
A second shot of the falls appears in Episode 2014 just after Thomas Eckhardt  checks into The Great Northern Hotel. This nighttime shot pans down from the hotel to the top of the falls.
The close up shot of the falls returns in Episode 2015.
The close up shot fades to a nighttime view of The Great Northern Hotel which pans down to the top of the falls.
This establishing shot is seen prior to Cooper walking through the hotel lobby. Similar shots were also used in Episodes 2006 and 2014.
Another daytime panning shot from the falls up to the hotel is used in Episode 2016. This establishing shot is seen before the John Justice Wheeler meets with track suit-clad Ben Horne and team.
The same extreme close up of the falls shot used in Episode 2010 is reused in Episode 2016 just before Cooper is seen practicing casting a fishing line from his bed.
They really liked using the extreme close up of the waterfall in the latter half of Season 2. It makes two more appearances in Episodes 2018 and 2019.
Episode 2020 contains an establishing shot from the falls to the hotel. It’s used prior to John Justice Wheeler approaching the front desk. It looks similar to shots used in Episodes 2002, 2004 and 2016. The clouds appear the same in all of those shot. The crew probably panned down then up from the hotel to the falls.
The final look at the falls in Season 2 comes as an extreme close up in Episode 2022. Â This establishing shot is used just before Cooper wakes up in room 315.
Twenty five years later, we return to the falls in Season 3 on Showtime. The first look appears in extended opening credits from Part 1. The title shot features mist covered trees which are actually from the Snoqualmie Falls viewing area. See this article for more details about this film location.
The over-the-falls footage appears to be captured captured using a drone. You can see similar rock features from the Google Maps image above.
Similar to the Pilot Episode and Episode 2008, Part 1 has extended opening credits. Subsequent episodes in Season 3 will have a shorter intro.
I combined several of the opening credit shots from Part 1 into a larger image.
Part 1 also contains a gorgeous establishing shot of The Great Northern Hotel and White Tail Falls at sunset. It’s the only time this particular shot is used in Season 3.
For Parts 2-18, there is a shorter over-the-falls shot used for the opening credits.
The episode credits appear in different spots for the shorter intros.
Parts 7 and 9 are the final two times the falls are seen. Both times they use a recycled nighttime shot from the top of the falls that first appeared in the David Lynch-directed Episode 1002. The shots in Season 3 are cropped compared to the 4:3 image used in Season 1.
One final note about the falls according to the “Twin Peaks Access Guide to the Town”:
“So magical are the powers of White Tail Falls that anyone who has ever fallen in love within the sound of their plunging water remains in love forever.”
This could explain why I’m forever in love with Twin Peaks.
