I went up there 12/31/21 after watching your video. I made it a little past the 2nd waterfall but it did get sketchy and I turned around. Will attempt to go further another time. The water was flowing and walking on the edge and scrambling a bit got the heart racing! Also ran into 2 girls who were doing the hike because of your video. Thanks for what you do!!!
Ha nice - glad others are enjoying this gem. And happy to hear that you turned around, there's def potential to get in a pickle here. If you want to go farther, I'd say come back when its a bit drier, it's a tad easier.
Very cool, didn't know about this one... i will add i to my list. I did Chiquito falls yesterday while there was still water flowing and Santa Paula last Sunday... which was more like river crossings than creek crossings. I may have to wait until we get a bit more rain to go here and see it at its best. Thanks for the guide, this one looks great and its relatively close to home.
Nice, congrats on seeing water at Chiquito - that's a tough one to see flowing. And hoping there's more rain this year. Hoping to get up to Santa Paula - been a while since I've been up in that neck of the woods.
That creek really flows through some rugged territory! I like the ease of the directions - basically take every left at every intersection. It’s a shame to see that graffiti on the rocks in various places. Nice video!
Great post! This hike is in one of my favorite areas of Cleveland NF (the Blue Jay CG area!)! I've been wanting to check out this canyon for a bit, as it recently reopened from the Holy Fire closure. I started scouting it out a little a month ago, but I got mixed up on those side trails and ended up looping back to the car by accident!! I wanted to go down canyon a mile or so and find an old overgrown firebreak/use path or cross-country to head up the south face of Los Pinos Peak part way to access a secret grove of Big Cone Douglas-Firs tucked into the gullies that lead down into Hot Springs Cyn!! Maybe, I'll do it when it dries up a bit. Was the rain turning into snow flurries towards the end of the video? I know most, if not all the hike is between 3,000' and 3,380', so it would mean quite low snow levels! I have seen snow at Blue Jay CG twice already, and it is amazing!
I figured you'd like this area! So lush, especially with all the moisture these days. So I think the trail up to Los Pinos is the one that I briefly show just before the first waterfall in this video. I haven't gone up it, but heading that way is the direction of the peak and follows some gentler contour lines. And yea, it was wet snow at the end. When I got to the parking area, the temp was 36F. It was mostly cold drizzle but then started coming down. I was also watching the Santiago Peak webcam yesterday and there was some snow on the ground. Will be interesting to see how low the snow level is when this blows out today.
What a gem of a hike, big thanks for the heads up. Just got back, water still flowing very nicely. Had the trail to myself until i was 5 min from the truck. I will be headed back Sunday to explore a bit further. I don't recall how many falls i saw, probably 6 or 7 but it was hard to turn back knowing there is more to see. I got a little further than the stated route on alltrails but those extra waterfalls do require careful deliberate movement. It felt like it was a mile or so more but it was only a 1/2 mile once i looked at the route to check.
Yea, it's def slow going on this one. I remember the first time that I did it, being exhausted and looking at my GPS, which was way less that I thought I had gone. It's a different type of experience on this guy...
@@Hikingguy Soo much flow Sunday, such a great location and hike to do when we get some rain. I cant wait to return this weekend, i am sure it will be epic. My favorite CNF hike!
Hi, we were on Ortega Hwy. on the night of Dec. 10 heading west toward Caspers Park and we were stopped by a major road construction project somewhere around Main Divide. Does this road construction impact the drive to the trailhead?
Is the hike from the Lazy W Ranch to the 160 ft waterfall dangerous or just difficult? Does the hike from the Lazy W Ranch involve rappelling and hiking along cliffs, or can the hike to the large falls from lower Hot Springs Canyon be done with boulder hopping? I don't mind an arduous hike, but I'm not willing to risk serious injury.
Thank you for sharing and all the information 🙏
I went up there 12/31/21 after watching your video. I made it a little past the 2nd waterfall but it did get sketchy and I turned around. Will attempt to go further another time. The water was flowing and walking on the edge and scrambling a bit got the heart racing! Also ran into 2 girls who were doing the hike because of your video. Thanks for what you do!!!
Ha nice - glad others are enjoying this gem. And happy to hear that you turned around, there's def potential to get in a pickle here. If you want to go farther, I'd say come back when its a bit drier, it's a tad easier.
Thank you for all that you do.
You're welcome 👍
I truly appreciate your commitment to quality videos! You paid the price but you deliver !
Thanks for the guide!
Thanks for this video and your detailed guide - they helped me so much in navigating to the end of the trail. What a stunning place!
Been wanting to do this one for a while. Thanks for the guide, Cris!
Very cool, didn't know about this one... i will add i to my list. I did Chiquito falls yesterday while there was still water flowing and Santa Paula last Sunday... which was more like river crossings than creek crossings. I may have to wait until we get a bit more rain to go here and see it at its best. Thanks for the guide, this one looks great and its relatively close to home.
Nice, congrats on seeing water at Chiquito - that's a tough one to see flowing. And hoping there's more rain this year. Hoping to get up to Santa Paula - been a while since I've been up in that neck of the woods.
Nice hike and waterfall 👍🏻
That creek really flows through some rugged territory! I like the ease of the directions - basically take every left at every intersection. It’s a shame to see that graffiti on the rocks in various places. Nice video!
I did it today, it was really beautiful.
Great post! This hike is in one of my favorite areas of Cleveland NF (the Blue Jay CG area!)! I've been wanting to check out this canyon for a bit, as it recently reopened from the Holy Fire closure. I started scouting it out a little a month ago, but I got mixed up on those side trails and ended up looping back to the car by accident!! I wanted to go down canyon a mile or so and find an old overgrown firebreak/use path or cross-country to head up the south face of Los Pinos Peak part way to access a secret grove of Big Cone Douglas-Firs tucked into the gullies that lead down into Hot Springs Cyn!! Maybe, I'll do it when it dries up a bit. Was the rain turning into snow flurries towards the end of the video? I know most, if not all the hike is between 3,000' and 3,380', so it would mean quite low snow levels! I have seen snow at Blue Jay CG twice already, and it is amazing!
I figured you'd like this area! So lush, especially with all the moisture these days. So I think the trail up to Los Pinos is the one that I briefly show just before the first waterfall in this video. I haven't gone up it, but heading that way is the direction of the peak and follows some gentler contour lines.
And yea, it was wet snow at the end. When I got to the parking area, the temp was 36F. It was mostly cold drizzle but then started coming down. I was also watching the Santiago Peak webcam yesterday and there was some snow on the ground. Will be interesting to see how low the snow level is when this blows out today.
was this a cabin you rented? in san diego?
What a gem of a hike, big thanks for the heads up. Just got back, water still flowing very nicely. Had the trail to myself until i was 5 min from the truck. I will be headed back Sunday to explore a bit further. I don't recall how many falls i saw, probably 6 or 7 but it was hard to turn back knowing there is more to see. I got a little further than the stated route on alltrails but those extra waterfalls do require careful deliberate movement. It felt like it was a mile or so more but it was only a 1/2 mile once i looked at the route to check.
Yea, it's def slow going on this one. I remember the first time that I did it, being exhausted and looking at my GPS, which was way less that I thought I had gone. It's a different type of experience on this guy...
@@Hikingguy Soo much flow Sunday, such a great location and hike to do when we get some rain. I cant wait to return this weekend, i am sure it will be epic. My favorite CNF hike!
@@andrews7911 Great to hear - yea this is the prime time to hit this hike - nothing like the water raging and all the green - glad you got to enjoy it
Hi, we were on Ortega Hwy. on the night of Dec. 10 heading west toward Caspers Park and we were stopped by a major road construction project somewhere around Main Divide. Does this road construction impact the drive to the trailhead?
The construction closures and delays are off and on so best to check Caltrains site to see that day
Yea, there have been rolling closures and intermittent work on the 74 forever and probably will continue forever...
I believe the closures are mostly scheduled throughout the night and early hours of the morning as to affect as little traffic as possible.
Is the water at the easier 3 mile hike a hot springs?
No just regular creek
Do you have any hiking horror stories if so I would love to see them
Haha, yea, the mainly involve people with Bluetooth speakers...
Is upstream towards the 'start' of the stream or towards the 'end' of the stream? What is the start and the end?
Upstream is the spring where it starts, the end is the ocean.
The worst poison oak I ever got was this trail 😂 sad to see the new graffiti. Even 2 years ago it was pristine.
Yea, I was pretty sad to see the tags there, wasn't expecting it here.
Me too. Fricken poison oak getting in there is the worst.
Interesting terrain had no idea it existed
Is the hike from the Lazy W Ranch to the 160 ft waterfall dangerous or just difficult? Does the hike from the Lazy W Ranch involve rappelling and hiking along cliffs, or can the hike to the large falls from lower Hot Springs Canyon be done with boulder hopping? I don't mind an arduous hike, but I'm not willing to risk serious injury.
Dangerous / canyoneering exercise
is it safe to swim in the falls?
the pools aren't really that big
I know opinions differ, but I hate hiking in the rain. It just seems miserable to me.
That's why I moved to SoCal 👍
Definitely different options I love going out in the rain…