For fans of falling water, California’s state parks offer a variety of intriguing waterfalls in all shapes and sizes. Some waterfalls are world-class attractions: President Theodore Roosevelt once proclaimed Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Memorial State Park “the eighth wonder of the world.” Another showstopper is in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, where magnificent McWay Fall tumbles from the Big Sur bluffs into the Pacific
Other state park waterfalls, from La Jolla Canyon Falls in Point Mugu State Park to Gold Dust Falls in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park exhibit a more subtle beauty. With waterfalls, as in art, beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder. Falls tend to be as diverse as the parks themselves. Some thunder along all year, while others are very much seasonal affairs.
I’m sharing ten of my favorite falls in this post, but heads-up: I have ten more favorites—that I’ll reveal next Waterfall Season. Hike On!
Gold Dust Falls
Prairie Creek Redwoods SP
Waterfalls near the coast are a rarity, so the presence of three of them in close proximity to the California Coastal Trail is a special treat indeed. Gold Dust Falls, a long, slender tumbler, spills some 80 feet to the forest floor. An unnamed waterfall is located just south of Gold Dust; another is located just north.
The Hike: An easy 2-mile round trip hike from Fern Canyon to Gold Dust Falls.
Burney Falls
McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial SP
Not surprisingly, the falls was considered a “power spot” by the native people who lived in the region. Park visitors can feel the power by watching the 200 million gallons of water that tumble into Burney Creek Gorge. While many waterfalls exceed Burney Falls in height, few can match its grandeur–twin, thundering 129-foot falls, accompanied by numerous plumes of water.
The Hike: A short walk, peer over the railing and there it is. Admire the falls from different perspectives by hiking a mile or two on both sides of Burney Creek.
Rush Creek Falls
South Yuba River SP
South Yuba Independence Trail offers wheelchair access and delightful passage for adventurers of all abilities to the charms of California’s Gold Country and some lovely waterfalls. Volunteers transformed a Gold Rush-era water ditch and wooden flumes into a whole access trail along the Yuba River.
Many-tiered Rush Creek Falls tumbles over polished granite. You can admire the spectacle from a gravity-defying flume above the tallest drop—about 50 feet.
The Hike: A pleasant, mile-long path crosses ravines by way of several wooden flumes to an elaborate wooden ramp that circles down to the edge of Rush Creek above the main fall.
Hot Spring Creek Falls
Grover Hot Springs SP
Most visitors come to this out-of-the-way park to soak in the hot springs. Still, a jaunt on one of the park’s inspiring footpaths and a visit to the vigorous, 50-foot-tall waterfall on Hot Springs Creek, adds to the pleasure of a park known for its soothing pools.
The Hike: An easy 3-mile round trip hike from the park campground along Hot Springs Creek meanders amidst giant sugar pines to the waterfall.
Berry Creek Falls
Big Basin Redwoods SP
Framed by five-fingered ferns, Berry Creek Falls is a real looker, the kind of waterfall that graces magazine covers. The beauty of the 70-foot waterfall contrasts with the walk to it—through fire-ravaged (but slowly and tenaciously recovering) redwood groves.
The Hike: Figure a 12-mile round trip hike from Highway 1 to reach the waterfall, as well as 60-foot Silver Falls and Golden Falls, which spills over a reddish-gold cliff. It’s about the same distance to reach the falls from park headquarters via Skyline to the Sea Trail.
Pfeiffer Falls
Pfeiffer Big Sur SP
This park is quintessential Big Sur—redwoods and the Big Sur River, great camping and hiking. A lovely path leads under stately redwoods. Then you ascend astairway to an observation platform at the base of the falls. Pfeiffer-Redwood Creek cascades over a 40-foot precipice to a small grotto.
The Hike: An easy, family friendly 2-mile round trip hike leads from Big Sur Lodge to Pfeiffer Falls.
McWay Falls
Julia Pfeiffer Burns SP
A redwood grove, dramatic Big Sur coastal vistas, and the only major California waterfall to cascade into the Pacific are some of this park’s attractions. From a well-designed overlook, you can observe slender but dramatic McWay Falls tumbling a hundred feet from the granite cliffs into McWay Cove.
The Hike: A 0.25-mile long, wheelchair accessible trail passes through a pedestrian tunnel under Highway 1 and leads to the overlook above McWay Falls.
La Jolla Canyon Falls
Point Mugu SP
La Jolla Valley welcomes visitors with a native grassland, drifts of oak, a peaceful pond and, in spring, wildflowers and a lovely waterfall. La Jolla Creek runs most of the year and so does the falls, a 15-foot high tumbler with a modest pool at its base; the waterfall is most sprightly in spring.
The Hike: The waterfall is located a short mile up the trail at the second creek crossing from the park’s Ray Miller Trailhead.
Green Valley Falls
Cuyamaca Rancho SP
The Sweetwater River cascades over granite boulders into series of pools. Rock slabs offer ideal sunning spots after wading in the cold water.
The Hike: From the Green Valley Falls picnic area, walk 0.25 mile along the Sweetwater River to a lovely series of low, but wide, cascades.
Borrego Palm Canyon Falls
Anza-Borrego Desert SP
Borrego Palm Canyon is the third-largest palm oasis in California, the first site sought for a desert state park back in the 1920s, and home to a lovely waterfall. A 15-foot waterfall cascades over huge boulders into a damp grotto surrounded by a palm oasis. You might have to wait until the next rain. But heavenly!
The Hike: From the Borrego Palm Canyon Campground, a family-friendly, 3-mile round trip hike takes you along the park nature trail to the waterfall.
Hike On,
John McKinney
The Trailmaster
P.S. For more information about any of these hikes, check out Hike Southern California