NEWHALEM, Skagit County — Now that we've settled in to soggy season, it's time to seek out those places that seem most alive when the five-day forecast is nothing but frowning clouds and teary raindrops: waterfalls.

And while it's not accurate to say that there's a new waterfall to add to the pantheon of can't-miss falls — your Snoqualmie, your Wallace, your Franklin, et al — new light is being shed on one of the region's popular walk-up waterfalls. Literally.

Last month, Seattle City Light restored its historic light show at Newhalem's Ladder Creek Falls, re-illuminating the forested falls in a rainbow of colors for the first time since 2004.

Every night, from dusk until midnight, as the tumbling creek zigs, zags and plunges down through a narrow slot canyon, it's bathed by alternating red, blue, purple and white lights. The effect is arresting: At times the falls resemble a giant lightning bolt streaking through the woods; at others, it looks like boiling hot lava flowing down the hillside, the only giveaway being the chilly nighttime air at this spot on the edge of the North Cascades.

"When it gets dark, it's just spectacular — you get enveloped in the light," says Scott Thomsen, a spokesman for Seattle City Light, which owns the land on which the falls are located.

"We really wanted to maintain what J.D. Ross called 'a paradise of color in the wilderness.' "

Restoring history

Ross, often referred to as the "Father of City Light," started the light show in the 1920s as a way to attract visitors and garner attention for his Skagit Hydroelectric Project. Over the years, however, time and lack of maintenance caused the original lighting system to fall into disrepair, so that by 2004 it had stopped working altogether. Plans to resurrect the light show got under way in 2008.

The new energy-efficient LED lighting system — it uses 90 percent less electricity than the original system, which featured 1,000-watt spotlights — is part of a $1.06 million renovation. Other improvements include rebuilt concrete stairs, a new seating area, benches and signage.

To get to Ladder Creek Falls, head east on Highway 20 (North Cascades Highway) to Newhalem, about 23 miles east of Rockport. (Though Highway 20 closes for the winter, that's farther east; access to Newhalem is year-round.) Park across from the Gorge Powerhouse — a couple hundred yards east of the Skagit General Store and the restored steam engine out front — and cross the river via the pedestrian-only suspension bridge. The lighted falls are just ahead up the pathway. Adjoining paths navigate a woodland garden.

Family-friendly

A bridge overlook to the right offers a multihued gander of some mini-cataracts, but for the more dramatic plunges — three tiers, each of which are 30 to 45 feet high — head up the steep stairs to the left. Ample railing and fencing throughout ensure that little ones are safe, thus making Ladder Creek Falls a terrific family outing.

"When you see it in person, it really is incredible, words don't do it justice," Thomsen says.

"You've really got to come see it."

More information: See www.seattle.gov/light/tours/skagit/sk5_sght.htm

Mike McQuaide is a Bellingham freelance writer and author of "Day Hike! Central Cascades" (Sasquatch Books). Contact him at mikemcquaide@comcast.net.