Hiking all three tiers of McCloud falls, lower, middle, and upper, is one of the most popular hikes in the Mt Shasta area. We visited McCloud falls as we were driving along the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Parkway. This is a great stop for everyone, as each falls has a parking lot with an accessible viewing area. Or for people looking to do more than stretch their legs, there is one trail along the river that connects all of the viewing points. Continue reading to find everything you need to know to plan your own visit to McCloud Falls.
About McCloud Falls
McCloud Falls is the name given to a collection of three waterfalls. That’s right, one stop, three waterfalls, what a deal! There is the lower falls, middle falls and upper falls.
This park is located in and managed by the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. There are vault toilets (aka holes in the ground with a toilet on top) near all of the parking lots in the park. If you would like to stay overnight in the park, the Fowler Campground and Cattle Campground are both nearby. The Fowler Camp is actually between the middle and lower falls. Both campgrounds are under $20/night but they fill up quickly so book ahead.
Visiting McCloud Falls is FREE. However, there are donation boxes throughout the park so please plan to bring a few dollars in cash to donate to the park to help maintain all the amazingly accessible viewpoints and clean picnic areas.
When To Visit McCloud Falls
The park is technically open year round. However, trails are not maintained when there is snow. So unless you want to snowshoe to the falls, which is a fun option, make sure you visiting Spring-Fall. We always think that California waterfalls look the best in the early summer, when the snow melt is at it’s peak. Early summer also is typically wildflower season in the area so that adds to the beauty of your visit. Another popular time to visit McCloud Falls is in the fall during the color change as there are trees everywhere that change color.
If you do decide to visit in peak season (Summer-color change), try to visit on a weekday or early in the morning. This is a very popular spot for Californians to visit on a long weekend. So if you can time your visit to avoid the most popular times, that will help you appreciate the nature in peace.
Also, if you are interested in photographing the falls, you’ll want to visit when the sun is low or behind clouds. This is generally good photography advice. However, it’s even truer at McCloud Falls. Because of the forests along the banks, if you visit when it is sunny, you’ll have a hard time getting even lighting in your photographs.
Getting There And Around
McCloud Falls is about a half hour from the town of Mt Shasta. This makes it a popular California day trip from this popular California vacation destination. Coming from Mt Shasta, you will want to plug this location into your GPS. The falls are located right off of Highway 89 (the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Parkway) which is a main road. However, the turnoff for the falls was not well marked so keep an eye out for it.
You will need a car to visit the falls. There are not any public transports that visit this area and ride shares in the area were very limited.
Upper McCloud Falls
There are two ways to visit all three tiers of McCloud Falls. The first is by car. If you choose this option, you will want to start at either Upper or Lower McCloud Falls. We started at the Upper Falls parking lot. From the parking lot it is a 1-2 minute walk along a well paved trail to the viewpoint for upper falls.
Upper McCloud Falls is a narrow chute of water through a canyon. This makes it seem like the most powerful section of the falls. The drop here is about 30 feet. Unfortunately, because of the narrowness of this section, we also thought it was the least photogenic section of McCloud Falls.
Middle McCloud Falls
The Middle McCloud Falls parking lot is about a 2 minute drive from the Upper Falls parking lot. From the parking lot you will find the longest walk (if you’re driving). First, the upper viewpoint of the Middle falls is just a few minutes from the parking lot.
Upper Viewing Area
From the upper viewing point, you’ll be able to see the wider section of river as it approaches the 50 foot drop.
Lower Viewing Area
However, the best view point in the McCloud Falls area is lower view point of the Middle Falls (in our opinion). This will require the main hiking portion of the day if you are driving between falls. So you’ll have to hike along a well maintained set of mini-switch backs to get to the bottom of the falls. Please stay on the trail as trying to cut between the switchbacks leads to erosion and is actually much more challenging on your knees.
From the lower viewing point, you’ll stand at the bottom of the falls and maybe even get cooled off by the spray. There are lots of boulder down here to sit on as you enjoy the scenery and take some photos. We thought this was the best place to take photos as it looked the most impressive. However, you do have to do some boulder scrambling to get an unobstructed view of the falls.
You can swim in the pool below the falls here. I’m not sure if this is technically allowed or just done, but there are no signs prohibiting it. However, mountain snow melt is what feeds this river so the water is icy! Also, I always feel like it’s not nice to swim in someones photography so if you choose to swim here keep these two things in mind.
Lower McCloud Falls
The Lower McCloud Falls parking lot is about a 10 minutes drive from the Middle Falls parking lot. From the parking lot, it is just a few minutes hike to the main viewing platform. This is the shortest falls with just over a 10 foot plunge. However, the water falls into a deep plunge pool making this a picturesque stop.
If you want to explore further, you can climb around the top of the falls where there are several flat rocky areas. We’ve even heard that people in the warmer months will jump off of these cliffs into the plunge pool below. Again, I’m not sure if that’s technically allowed but it’s definitely done.
McCloud Falls Hiking Trail
Alternatively, you can choose to hike the McCloud Falls trail along the river to see all of the tiers of the falls. The trail takes you to all of the viewpoints mentioned above, plus walks you along the calmer sections of the river.
Distance: 3.9 miles out & back | Elevation Gain: 337 feet | Time: 1.5 hours | Difficulty: Easy
McCloud Falls Trail Vs. Driving
Honestly, the trail between the different sections of McCloud Falls wasn’t anything special. So we’d recommend driving between sections. However, if the park is busy and parking spots are hard to find, walking between section may be a good option as it will save you time trying to find parking. Also, if you’re looking to cool off in the river, hiking between the lower and middle falls will take you past several paddle pools in the river that are great for the kiddos to refresh themselves in.
Safety
This area was surprisingly so much hotter than the surrounding Mt Shasta areas. Also, lower falls was the only area we spotted that had running water. So bringing plenty of water, especially if you are hiking, this is a must. Also, there are critters in the area, including bear. Please do not feed them or leave food out for them to find. Keep the wild wild and keep your food secure.
We hope this information has made it easy for you to plan your own trip to McCloud Falls or add it in to your bigger Northern California road trip. This was a quick and easy stop and we think it is a great stop for everyone because it is so accessible. If you’re looking for more California destinations, check out our California travel page here for inspiration. If you have any comments or questions, please leave them in the section below and we’d be happy to get back to you.
