McCloud Waterfall Trail (Siskiyou County, California)

With all of the snow this winter, it's not surprising that many of the waterfalls in California are still flowing strong. One such waterfall, which I've head of, but yet to visit, is McCloud Falls. In fact, McCloud consists of three waterfalls, a lower, a middle, and an upper. Since I have the day off, I decided to make the drive up to the Mount Shasta area and explore this area.

It's a 3+ hour drive to the trail head and since I wanted to get at least one other stop in today, I got an early start, leaving my place just before 6:00 AM. The drive up US-395 through Susanville and then over CA-44 past Lassen Volcanic National Park was uneventful, but provided some beautiful landscapes. There is still a great deal of snow on Lassen Peak and Mount Shasta, as well.

I arrived at the trail head for the Lower Falls about 9:30 and after getting my bearings, started down the well maintained trail, which follows the McCloud River. After descending a set of steps, the lower falls is just below the parking lot. I'm here pretty early, but a few people fishing beat me to it. The lower waterfall has carved a channel in a short cliff and drops about twenty-five feet into a large, broad blue pool. I hear from some locals that the fishing here is outstanding with trout being the dominate inhabitant. I snap a few shots and then move on down the trail.

From the lower falls, the trail first follows a paved path as it wanders through a campground, but soon the pavement turns to dirt and as the trail continues along the river forming a wide upside down letter W. In all cases the trail is very well maintained and easy to navigate. The distance between the lower and middle falls is nearly a mile, but as I approach, it is obvious that this middle waterfall is far more spectacular than the lower one. A sheet of flowing water plunges fifty feet or more into a large pool and spans the widget of the river, perhaps a couple of hundred feet. To the right of the main waterfall, another flow cascades down a set of rocks. I decide to climb our a little ways over some fallen trees and rocky hillside to get a better shot. This truly is a magnificent waterfall, rivaling Burney Falls to the south. As I prepare to move on, a young family asks if I will take a picture of them with the waterfall in the background, which I'm happy to do.

The trail between the middle and upper falls is shorter than the previous section, but gains quite a bit of elevation as it has to climb the height of the middle falls and then some. Wisely, the trail builders put in a set of long switchbacks to help make this popular trail less daunting. After making my way up to the top, the trail follows along a stone cliff-side before finally opening up at the upper falls viewing area. A number of other hikers/site-seers are already taking in the beautiful waterfall. This one is similar to the lower falls, but set at an angle, which makes getting great pictures a bit challenging. I do the best I can though. This waterfall bursts out of the cliff with explosive force and drops twenty-five or so feet into another large pool, before heading down river to the next section of this gorgeous little river landscape.

I take a few minutes to bask in the sun and the glorious landscape around me before returning the way I came along the trail. The return is easy, as it is all down hill, and I'm reminded that I made the right choice to get here early, as the trail is starting to get pretty busy. When I finally reach the jeep, I see I've covered about 4.6 miles on this little waterfall journey. It was well worth it, but now I'm off to my next adventure.