Right out of a fantasy tropical island movie, it’s called Three Falls and it’s worth a visit. Three natural water falls, complete with cliff diving rocks, rope swing, and yes, a natural water slide. Like something out of tropical paradise, this hidden gem exists under the radar in Round Mountain, CA. It’s one of the best kept secrets of Northern California. My brothers and I have been going here since we were kids and because I’m desperate to find a following on the internet, I’ve decided to unveil my favorite, secret spot!
So here it is: Three Falls in Round Mountain, CA.
Now if you’re averse to reading, don’t sweat it! I have a video for you!
So here’s what you need to know about visiting Three Falls in Round Mountain, CA. Once you park, there’s about a fifty yard walk to the first set of falls. There’s a beautiful little swimming hole there and a few different rocks you can jump off of, ranging from ten feet, to about 30 feet. There’s also a little rope swing there, but keep your expectations low for the rope swing.
If you hike back up to the trail and continue down through the manzanita maze, you’ll reach a trail down the hill that will bring you to the natural water slide. It’s like something out of a movie, but be careful because there’s a pit on the right side of the water slide, so don’t slide into the pit (obviously). Now don’t get watered out just yet, there’s still one third set of waterfalls! Hence the name, three falls.
Hike up stream from the water slide and you’ll find a really mellow waterfall that you can jump off of also. It’s only about 10 feet high and not as easily accessible as the other two falls, so there’s usually no one at the middle falls.
It’s not super easy to explain how to get there, so I’ve attached a map of how to get to the falls and Andrea Borden‘s blog which has another description of how to get there. It’s about 30 miles east of Redding, CA. You get on CA 299 East and stay on it until you get there. Here are some coordinates you should be able to plug in to get to Three Falls.
29121 California 299
Round Mountain, CA 96084
And here are coordinates of the actual waterfalls:
40.783611, -121.968006
Once you get there, you should be able to park on the shoulder. Use good judgment at these falls and beware of the people. Most of the time, you get really nice folks up there, but sometimes you get some locals that are a little rough around the edges, so keep your Trump lectures and your opinions on gun laws to yourself until you get back to your car.
Hope this is helpful. If you like what you see, please don’t forget to share, like, subscribe, so I can continue to unveil awesome spots for you to check out!