Hello everyone! This is a friendly reminder that any of these fun places we may visit, we are a guest at. Please treat both businesses and trails with the utmost respect. We here at Hidden California follow the 'Leave no Trace' mantra, meaning whatever you bring with you comes back with you. If you see trash on a trail, please do your part to help remove it. Remember, we are not picking up trash from another person but instead cleaning up for Mother Nature. Happy adventures!
I do not recommend this hike to anyone that is allergic to poison oak/sumac, bear scat, thorns, wolf scat, heights, rattlesnakes, or landslides. There are lethal amounts of all of that here and this ranks as one of the most dangerous/stupid hikes I’ve ever done. I will never do this again.
In the early 1920s, when the Powerhouse was being constructed, a railroad ran through the canyon to bring materials to this remote site! When the switch was flipped in 1922, the pit was the largest hydroelectric powerhouse in the US and second largest in the world.
At times, the old road is completely obliterated by poison oak/sumac over 5 feet tall, which is the perfect way to step on a rattlesnake. At other times, the road is covered by landslides requiring boulder scrambling on sun-warmed sharp basalt. Do not twist an ankle, much less both of them.
The old road used to cross the river at this bridge, so there is no further route closer to the falls that isn’t over sharp, hot volcano rocks. However, kayakers and rafters can access the falls by river from the put-in seven miles upriver. The put-in is on the river left across the bridge from the river at a river access facility built and operated by PG&E. The easiest way to see the falls is from the viewpoint on Highway 299, 300 feet above the canyon floor.
The falls are 30-40 foot high, and WIDE, offering three routes down for kayaks and rafts. There is a swimming hole for the brave and agile. You are almost guaranteed solitude from human interaction, which also means no one will hear you scream for help. Don’t bring your dog because if they’re like my dog, the footbridge stairs are too steep for them to navigate and they’ll take back poison oak oil on their fur to everyone at home!
No one in their right mind would try this route… a second time.
