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Rose Valley Falls
Los Padres National Forest, March 26, 2005 I first got the idea to photograph this waterfall after reading about it in the L.A. Times. They have an "Outdoors" page that only comes on Tuesdays. That week, they did a piece on the top ten hikes in the Los Angeles area. Rose Valley Falls was picked as the "Top Waterfall Hike." Print the L.A. Times map (Acrobat PDF Format, 156Kb) for yourself.
I had been photographing waterfalls nearby, and was enticed by the L.A. Times description of "300 feet of hurtling foam," "replica of Bridalveil Falls," and "Rose Valley rivals any waterfall south of Yosemite during rainy years." This certainly has been the rainiest year I can remember. In case you forgot, this is the year that La Conchita had a huge mudslide that claimed many lives. And who can forget the big boulder that fell in the middle of Topanga Canyon Highway that city workers had to use dynamite to remove? Long story short, I was easily sold, and I went.
The road to the waterfall had been closed for some time and I wasn't sure that I would be able to get there. Fortunately, the section that was closed was just beyond the entrance to the waterfall. There were places where the road was slightly flooded, but most vehicles can cross without incident. You must have a Forest Adventure Pass to park your vehicle anywhere inside the forest. This can be had at the ranger station just after you pass the twin tunnel.
The drive itself is fantastic. There's a couple thousand feet of elevation gain along a winding cambering road. This is the perfect place to take a motorcycle. The lanes are wide, and there isn't much traffic because of the road closures. There is a section of road that has been reduced down to one lane because the outside lane has been washed away completely, so be careful. The views of Wheeler Gorge is great this time of year. Because of the recent rains, the mountain-sides are green and the turnouts are lined with gold mustard flowers and a purple flower that resembles a Texas bluebonnet. Take a moment and get out of the car to take a few pictures about halfway to your destination. You can see the entirety of Wheeler Gorge, and feel completely removed from the city.
Once you get to the trailhead, you'll be able to see the upper falls. You can hardly miss it because it is 300ft above you. The waterfall is actually three tiers, the top fall is 200ft, the middle fall is 90ft, and there is a small 20 footer at the bottom. Some say this is a replica of Bridalveils. Well, I wasn't so impressed. It is quite a nice waterfall, and easily the most beautiful I've seen around Southern California, but this is way different than Bridalveil, not in a bad way, they are just two different types of waterfalls. Perhaps in an even more rainy season, you could make a comparison, but not now.
You will find that this hike, like all the other Southern California waterfall hikes I've been on, offers much reward for not much hiking. You will find yourself at the lower falls in literally ten minutes. Come to think of it, this is definitely the least amount of hiking I've ever done to see a natural waterfall. From the trailhead, you'll have to negotiate two minor creek crossings. If your balance is good, you should come out nice and dry. Even if your balance isn't good, you can still get across the creeks by holding on to some roots and branches. That's it. The rest of the way is wide and well groomed. You'll find yourself walking along the creek towards the waterfall with the sound of water getting louder as you near the fall. After about 5 minutes of this you will see the lower fall. The view is quite wonderful, the rocks are covered with lichen and is flanked by large trees with bare roots. The area around the waterfall is very steep and forces you to look up towards the top of the 90 feet lower falls.
Getting to the upper falls takes some doing. You will need to back-track about 50 feet from the lower fall and take a cutback. After about 100 feet, you'll see a clearing. No, you're not in the wrong place, it really is just a wide path of loose dirt. You'll have to diesel up this seemingly vertical hill of loose gravel. You'll slide down two steps for each three you take. It doesn't end there, oh no! After you get to the top, make sure you take the left fork to get to the base of the upper falls. This path is not without its own perils. The trail is so narrow at some places that only one hiker may proceed at a time, and you have to be careful because you're basically negotiating a cliff face. The rock is very grippy, but it sure is a long way down if you aren't careful.
The upper fall is truly a sight to behold. It is 200 feet of water hurtling down into a little pool at the bottom. To see this, you'll have to scale the rocks at the bottom of the pool. These rocks are wet, but with good balance you should have little difficulty scaling it because they are porous and grip your shoes well. Is it worth the danger to see the top? Well, you can take a look at the rest of my photos and decide for yourself.
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