Amazing waterfall is here! It's really difficult to find the trail. Recommend ware hiking boots, long pants and gloves. Trabuco Creek Road is a dirt road. It's fun to drive. Hikers are so nice and friendly. I definitely come back here again! read more

See all

Summary: if you want to see a running stream without hiking then this is the place which is closer than Holy Jim Trail. The drive is one way and you will drive past a hobby aircraft airport. The problem is at the end of the road is a stream and it's a dead end where it is prohibited to walk, drive beyond. Just a few trees, rocks and stream so bring tables and chairs because nothing else read more

Falls Canyon Falls - Hiking Near Me - Trabuco, California

While this hike is still beautiful in the Summer and a better hike in 100 degree heat than many other hikes around because of the vast shade provided by the live oaks, the falls themselves were just about a trickle as of today, early August. While the falls would be more splendid than Holy Jim, Holy Jim has ample water this time of year making it a better hike for falls. As for john a's last review, while I commend him on trying to share this hike, if you follow his instructions you will end up lost in a forest of thistle and poison oak. The actual trail head to start this hike is about 2 miles East of the national forest signs. You are far better off using your Tom Tom and punching in longitude latitude coordinates GPS coordinate 33' 40.423N 117' 32.086W. Look for the opening of a canyon on the left as john said and you will see a slight turnout on the right where you can park your car. I would bring some Eucalyptus or citron spray to keep away the gnats and steady shoes as you will have to climb over a few fallen branches, up boulders, and over creeks. Have fun and be safe! read more

See all

Listen to everybody on this post, my phone GPS went out due to no signal about half a mile before the NO SIGN entrance down to the waterfalls. The only way to know this path is to look for the long white log that crosses the creek, you will have to go down a steep hill to get to this log. We parked at a spot about where my GPS went out and walked the rest Of the way. It was a good parking spot next to a big log.See photos, there is also a white tree by the hill, if you pass this tree you passed the white log that crosses the creek to get to the Falls Canyon Waterfall. Many hikers don't know of this path and we asked and most thought only Jims Falls was there. Once you crossed this log follow the path up to the other creek which leads east into the canyons, You will go up and down left and right but you will always be near the creek that leads up to the waterfall. we actually walked to the Jims trail parking lot first which was an hour then another hour up to Jims Falls, on the way back we stopped at Canyon Falls. Falls Canyon was way better than Jims falls and if I had known it was nearby where we parked we would have skipped Jims falls all together. I noticed Jims Holy grail takes you all the way to Santiago Peak, please see my review for Indian truck trail which is a way better hike to Santiago Peak with parking and only half a mile of dirt road to the parking lot. We missed the cave didn't know where it was at Falls Canyon read more

See all

As of today, August 9, 2020, the trail is technically closed. We hiked a mile in and right before we get to the falls, we were told to turn back because the park ranger was handing out citations. Hike elsewhere. read more

Where do I start? It was terrible. Nothing but leeches and no waterfall because it is closed off. No room to hike....potholes everywhere! You know that feeling when you want to fart or take a dump badly but you can't because you're on a date? That's the feeling you will get if you go here. read more

See all

Attempted to go on this trail to see the water fall however due to the rain a portion of the access road has been washed out. Do not attempt to cross unless you have a 4 x 4 or an off road vehicle. Very rocky, muddy and soft. Other than that kids enjoyed playing next to the creek where it was still beautiful. read more

Falls Canyon Falls - The kids enjoyed playing by the creek - Hiking Near Me - Trabuco, California

See all

Closed. A police officer is at the front (road closed sign) giving output citations to all cars parked there.

Took my 2 girls a 3yr and 6yr old and they had an amazing adventurers time. If you take kids be ready with snacks and many breaks. Took us about 45min-1hr, beware of the small river crossings and walking on top of rocks, very easy but you can get wet. The waterfall is small but it's a great adventure for the kids.. read more

See all

What a fun little hidden trail to explore! You could trek in and back out in under an hour, but we spent some time sitting near the waterfall at the end, so it took us a little longer. I'm not sure that you can still call it a waterfall in this drought, but there's a little trickle of water coming down the canyon face. It feels nice and cool to the touch, but don't expect any cold pool to splash in. The first and most important part to starting the hike is actually finding the trailhead. Looking back at the other reviews, there's still no trail marker. If you're coming from RSM (which is closer than entering the canyon from Foothill Ranch), when you're on Trabuco Canyon Road, turn right onto the dirt road that is Trabuco Creek. It is right before the little bridge. (Don't make the mistake I did and go for the Trabuco Creek Road that leads to O'Neill campgrounds.) Drive in about 3 miles and about 3/4-1 mile past the parking lot for Holy Jim Falls, you'll see that the mountain wall on your left has opened up to reveal a little canyon. If there was actually enough water nowadays, you'd see a little tributary coming through the canyon to join the stream bordering Trabuco Creek Road. On Google Maps, it's listed as Falls Canyon (stream). So you just follow Falls Canyon up until the canyon closes in and you see the trickle of water: that's Falls Canyon Falls. Beware, I have Verizon and didn't have any service in that area. A good GPS would be helpful (didn't have one to try the coordinates listed in the other review). As you hike, you're crossing the stream on stones or wooden logs, but there's mostly no water right now so you can basically step right in the stream bed. Our youngest member was 12 and he did fine! The other nice thing is that there was no one on the trail on a June Thursday afternoon, so you're surrounded by the silence of nature. Most of the trail is partially covered in trees, but sunscreen is a good idea. There are also some little bugs flying around, so maybe some bug spray too. And don't forget your camera to take pictures of the trickle-waterfall! I can't wait until we get more rain and this waterfall becomes lively once again! read more

See all

I will not say much as I would like to keep this place my secret little garden. However, this hike is easy and straight forward. Beautiful and not a rough hike to the waterfall. There's also a path to get on top of the waterfall that will offer an excellent view, just get there early. read more

See all

Falls Canyon Falls is a little known waterfall located less than a mile from Trabuco Creek Road in Mission Viejo. Its so secluded and secret that I almost feel bad for listing it on Yelp. The waterfall is a single tier which plummets over 40 feet off the cliff face at the end of the canyon. The waterfall can very impressive when its flowing after a good rainstorm. The falls are primarily spring fed and should flow for most of the year. The hike to the falls is extremely easy and takes less than 15 minutes from Trabuco Creek Road. The trailhead to the falls is located a little over three miles from the intersection of Trabuco Canyon Rd and Trabuco Creek Rd. The trail is a little difficult to locate because it is not marked by any marker or sign. The best way to get to the falls trail is to drive down Trabuco Creek road until you see a the sign for the San Bernadino Forest. Trabuco Creek Rd can be a bit rough, but any front wheeled vehicle should easily be able to handle the ruts and bumps. After you enter the San Bernadino Forest, you will have to keep an eye out for a small tributary which flows into Trabuco Creek from a narrow canyon on the left side of the road. Park your car in the nearest turnout and follow the tributary upstream into the canyon for approximately one mile to reach the falls. The canyon is very narrow and it requires several stream crossings. You wont be able to get lost on trail because the canyon walls are very steep. The Falls are located at the end of the canyon so you wont be able to miss them from the trail. Watch out for poison ivy and poison oak on the trail. After you see Falls Canyon Falls, you can return to your car and drive a bit further down Trabuco Creek Rd and you will eventually come to the Holy Jim Trail which features another waterfall, although a bit smaller and less impressive than Falls Canyon Falls. read more

Falls Canyon Falls - falls canyon falls - Hiking Near Me - Trabuco, California

Been coming here since before I can remember (literally, I was that small), and my dad has been going to falls canyon since the 70s when apparently he spent a lot of time in the Holy Jim canyon area. It was much more secretive when I was younger. Most times I hike it, I see a few other people (probably partially in thanks to the internet). Its a short hike to the falls (shorter than Holy Jim falls) with a slightly taller waterfall. Lots of shade in the canyon. It only flows very good when we get rain, although I have never yet to see it completely dry. Some scrambling over/under things at times. It's amazing to see the trail and brush/overgrowth change from year to year. I have almost every part of the hike committed to memory until it "changes". I have lots of childhood memories with my dad and brothers and now my boyfriend and friends in this small canyon. I only wish it were more hidden as I find myself picking up other peoples trash nearly the entire hike. If you come, please pack out your trash! And enjoy the hike! read more

I decided to take this hike based on the reviews and boy am I glad I did! Everyone was right about it being a bit tricky to find the trail. You cannot really say there is a trailhead. I parked along the side of the road where one poster recommended using GPS coordinates. There was about enough room for three cars end to end, although I was the only one there. I then slid my way down to the creek and hiked left (west) until I found a trail (sort of) leading off to the right (north). My GPS with Google Maps on my cell phone showed the location of Hidden Falls as being in the direction that trail led, so I went for it. Even though I could not get a cell signal, so Google Maps couldn't offer walking directions, the GPS was showing where I was relative to the falls and I was moving closer all the time, so that was useful. I actually reached what I believe to be the falls well before Google Maps showed me reaching Hidden Falls, so perhaps they aren't the same. Not a huge amount of water, but quite nice. There did not appear to be any way to go further, so I turned around to go back to my car. Going down was quite a bit easier, but finding a good way to get back up to the road was a little challenging. It was a good thing I had Google Maps save where I parked since I would have had no idea which way to go on the road. As it was, I missed my car by only about 500 feet, so soon I was driving home, tired but satisfied. read more

Falls Canyon Falls - Hiking Near Me - Trabuco, California

See all

Warning***Do your research before going here. Off-road vehicles only recommended if driving into the canyon! The road gets worse the further you go, best to rent a truck or jeep. We did see a puma on the way back as well as a baby turtle crossing the road which we helped get off the road to avoid being run over by the people here who are smashing down the dirt road going over 45 mph. Slow down please for the sake of the people walking with their kids or driving cautiously.The view is beautiful you have bunch of small creeks and some smaller falls. Remember going on hikes can be dangerous you see stuff all the time on the news it's best to go with a group. Even if you don't go down to the main waterfall it's still nice to get away from the city. read more

Just the tip going into this mountain area it's about 20-30 miles to the actual hike. there's no gas station inside so make sure you pump a full tank going in. read more

A must-to-go place in orange county. Trail is not easy as unpaved road, but this is the real interesting part for energetic ones. The only problem is that it's a little hard to find the trailhead. I would suggest people to get the coordinates (from google map or previous review) and use GPS to find it first, then you can just follow the trails and enjoy the canyon. read more

Found it! Mini-bucket list item done! Been to Holy Jim Falls many times. Never have found Falls Canyon falls and glad I did. Google Maps calls it "Hidden Falls". A friend finally showed me where this hike was and all in all we really enjoyed. Quicker access than Holy Jim and shorter than Holy Jim. I took GPS coords from iPhone EXIF picture data and Compass app. Informal parking turnout that fit about 3 vans was just off main road uphill just east of 33°40'26.85"N 117°32'10.45"W on the right hand side. It's really only a slight main road widening and can be overlooked. If you're past a concrete bridge you're too far up the main road. We found two drop offs from the main road both unmarked. The one we mistakenly took was a 5 minute hike parallel to the main creek before the main Falls Canyon entrance. Thick ivy with downed old logs hiding stinging nettle. So look for the drop that is closest to the north canyon opening. The main creek will be north of you if you take either entrance. Confirmed, look for a long, white log pointing north/south going across the main creek continue north. You see the log right away after entrance you know you took the right one. The log was skinny enough that I was glad I brought my hiking stick also for the creek crossings. By now you should see signs of a trail going uphill north and looking up you'll have a view of a steep heavily shaded canyon entrance. There is a funky cave (?) entrance on the west canyon wall very close to main Falls Canyon entry. This trail compared to Holy Jim is not as traveled and the canyon is tighter, also there was more foliage close to the path. Sadly it looks like the recent high winds or the drought has several of the larger trees down. We did see signs of water in the little stream tributary about half way up the trail, mainly little pools. At 33°40'42.00"N 117°32'7.00"W there is one huge boulder/rock wall that you need to climb up and over about 10 feet. The climb was very easy and had good hand/foot holds on the uphill south side. Respect to other postings however in my opinion I'd be very cautious of young ones on this trail. This is not Holy Jim with wider almost meadows, level ground skinny tree stands and sometimes two abreast path width. Also the downed trees can be quite the obstacle. Some of the off angle trail sides had loose footing with a few 5-10 foot drops back into the main creek I'd be wary of. These drops are few and far between however. Confirmed the falls are but a trickle, like a garden hose on very low/medium pressure. Still, the rock face was interesting with a spongy buildup of moss. A small pool about 10 feet or so was about 20 feet from the base. Final coords were 33°40'44.39"N 117°32'4.79"W. Tip: input into Google Maps like this with no symbols, just spaces: 33 40 44.39N 117 32 4.79W. My "Trails" app made a track that had 2639ft. distance from the road. The altitude profile started at 1551ft and ended 1839ft with an altitude gain/loss of +513/-225. The main uphill steepness is about 2/3's in with a small plateau at final elevation height at the last 10%. For the very adventurous if your facing north looking at the falls to your right there was a bit of a trail sign east canyon side that from what I've read leads to the top. Google Earth had some pictures that looked like they were taken from the top of falls perspective also. However, the path really steepened and was quite loose soil only halfway up so we didn't try it. Oh, and usual hiking stuff bring water/snack, yes and bug repellent YES! Also, tick check as soon as you can. Last you might need a wilderness access pass for this area 5$ day/ 30$ year. Trabuco General Store (92679) just north of O'Neil park I believe sells them and that's closest to the turn off of asphalt on to fire road access into Trabuco Canyon proper. When you're done hiking come back and get a steak next door. Careful though I hear they don't like neckties, that's a different review however ;o) read more