Sunday, March 3, 2019

McCloud River Falls Trail ↔ Lower, Middle and Upper Falls


vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide
Mt. Shasta
Today's adventure takes us to the McCloud River Falls Trail!

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide

Instead of driving to each waterfall individually, we parked in the Lower Falls parking lot and walked the 5 mile round-trip trail.

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide
Lower Falls

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide

The trail was icy and slippery in some spots, but we adventured on to see the other two waterfalls...

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide

I have to say, this was probably one of my favorite hikes so far. I know, I know, I've probably said that already about a half dozen other trails, but I really enjoyed this one. There's just something so magical about a trail that follows a river and I can't get enough of the wonderful sound of rushing water.

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide

Middle Falls is a massive wall of water that you can hear long before you even come up on it...

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide

I couldn't believe how much water was pumping through the Upper Falls. (You'll get a better idea of the power of it when you watch the video below.) Make sure you walk the trail that takes you up past it because the rushing river is just as fun to watch as the waterfall itself.

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide
Upper Falls

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide

The fact that there are three uniquely beautiful waterfalls within a few miles of each other still blows my mind. And you don't necessarily have to take the full hike to them because they are reachable from their individual parking lots.

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide

Without the treacherous ice, this trail would be an extremely easy hike, with just one steep spot and some stairs to climb to reach the top of Middle Falls. We got an early start and arrived at the Lower Falls at around 8:30 a.m. and didn't see a single person during our entire hike. When we returned to Lower at around 1:30, there were a few people around the falls and just beginning their hike. These falls can get quite busy during the warmer months, so we were delighted to have the place to ourselves!

vaughn the road again northern california travel adventures guide

There's also a nice campground right next to the Lower Falls (Fowlers Campground) where we enjoyed our picnic lunch. It's closed for the winter right now, but I bet it's a great place to camp right there next to the river.

We will definitely be returning to this gem of a trail in the spring!





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vaughn the road again northern california adventures blog hiking

Let's go on an adventure!


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