
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
2 Northern California Waterfall Hikes
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is located just outside of Redding, CA. This was about 1.5 hours from our home base at The Village at Highlands Ranch near Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Whiskeytown has a 3200 acre lake with 36 miles of shoreline. You can hike the dozens of miles of trails, bike and also kayak at Whiskeytown.
The hikes that we chose were dog friendly so we packed up Mable and hit the road. Our first hike was to Crystal Creek Falls. The parking lot for Crystal Creek Falls holds about six or seven cars, but people park along the side and there is a small overflow area. With this being a relatively short hike, we also knew that the parking spots would open up fairly quickly. This hike is only a .6 mile total out and back. From the parking lot to the waterfall it is a paved trail. There is virtually no elevation change until you get to the falls where there is an opportunity to scramble down the rocks and play in the river. This was Mable’s first swim and she loved the water and had a great time practicing her doggy paddle. The falls themselves are very pretty, about 52 feet tall and are man-made. The large pool at the base of the falls makes this a popular stop for families looking to beat the summer heat.
Our second hike of the day was to Boulder Creek Falls. There are 2 ways to access these falls. The strenuous way is a 5.5 mile, 1000 foot elevation gain trail via South Shore Drive. The moderate hike is 2.2 miles roundtrip with 150 foot elevation gain via Mill Creek Road. Because of time constraints, having Mable with us and the extreme heat, we chose the easier of the 2 hikes via Mill Creek Road.
The parking lot by the trailhead is suitable for about four cars however there was no one there when we came at the beginning of summer. The road to the trailhead is very narrow, so be careful about going too fast. Let me say that again, the road is super narrow and winding. Because of the Carr Fire in 2018 which burned 97% of the parks forested lands, the trail offers very little shade and at the beginning of summer we were hiking in 90° weather. It is only 1 mile out and 1 mile back so it’s a’ fairly short hike.
After approximately 9/10 of a mile you cross the creek, then take an immediate right uphill for about .1 mile. This is a narrow trail with downed trees, but looking ahead we could see the metal handrail and knew we were on the right path. The falls themselves are an impressive 81 feet tall. We had the falls all to ourselves and were able to let Mable practice her swimming again in the small pool at the base of the falls.
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