Distance: 8 miles

My rating: moderate

I try to be fashionable. Is it working?

I was so excited to hike this trail! What’s better than a waterfall flowing onto the beach and into the ocean?? You’ll notice when you scroll down that there isn’t a picture of the falls.

I won’t make this suspenseful. I didn’t make it down to the beach for the cool vantage point. Bummer.

The secrets to succeeding on this hike? Don’t go after heavy rain when the creek can’t be safely crossed. I saw after lot of people taking risks crossing extremely fast moving water.

My second secret is to go at anytime but high tide. The ocean meets the cliff at high tide, and you won’t be able to get the beach view.

I did make it to the top of the falls! So I’ve done 99% of the trail. And it was nice!

It was flooded and muddy in February.

The road to the trailhead is a little rough. It’s unpaved and full of potholes, weeee!

It seems to be a super popular destination, especially with area college students. We had to park a ways down and walk to the trailhead. No biggie.

Most of the trail is wooded. It had rained recently, and a lot of the trail was flooded when we went. There was also a plethora of poison oak, so be aware!

There are some awesome Pacific views in the first mile. Expect a little uphill section during mile 2, and you’ll gain about 300 feet.

You’ll see Bass Lake just before mile 3 on the left, then Pelican Lake is just before mile 3.5.

Keep your eyes peeled…around 3.75 miles is the left turn off for the falls. We missed it on the way there and had to hike back up a pretty steep and dug-out trail. I don’t think it’s marked, it’s narrow, and it looks overgrown.

Hike the final quarter of a mile to beach! Have a lunch, play some frisbee, and enjoy.