Brandy Creek Falls (Shasta County, California)

While researching waterfalls within driving distance of Reno, I stumbled across the Whiskeytown Lake National Recreation Area and it's four famous waterfalls. I decided to make a weekend of it and get a camping reservation lakeside. After driving the three and a half hours to the location just west of Redding, CA, I wanted to knock out at least a couple of hikes.

First on the list was Brandy Creek Falls. The park ranger at the visitors center let me know that a mountain bike race was in progress in that area, but she said the roads were not closed to the public and as I turned onto the side road heading towards the falls, a sheriff's deputy confirmed.

There a number of places to hit the trail from the gravel road, but knowing how much I was intending to pack into this short visit, I figured it was best to park as close to the falls as possible. Along the way, I encountered a number of mountain bikers and did my best to take it slow and easy, but some of them still seemed annoyed that the road was not closed. A guy on a dirt bike, presumably one of the race organizers, honked at me at me to stop and then asked me to take it easy especially around the corners. I told him I would be as careful as possible. While I have no love of mountain bikers in general, I certainly don't want to clean one out of my bumper.

Finally reaching the highest trailhead, I parked the jeep and headed up the steep incline. For the first section of the trail, it parallels high above Brandy Creek. Fortunately, there are no bikes permitted on this section of the trail. 

After a bit, the trail and creek begin to converge. When finally they meet, I'm offered a view of what is labeled "Lower Brandy Creek Falls". It's actually a relatively small two-part waterfall. However, I find that from here until the upper falls is nothing but a series of cascading waterfalls. Though much more lush, it's reminiscent of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, though on a smaller scale.

Finally arriving at the highest and largest of the falls, I find a few other adventurers taking in the scenery. This includes a couple standing on a rock in the center of the creek and blocking my shot. I give them a few minutes and consider asking them to move, but they wouldn't be able to hear me over the crashing water. The waterfall is beautiful, but I finally give up and decide to head back. Arriving back at the trailhead, the final tally is just over 3 miles. Time to head onto my next destination.