Hike the Many Waterfalls Cross-Country Loop

Phan­tom Falls may be the most well-known water­fall at Table Moun­tain, but there are more water­falls that that one on the eco­log­i­cal reserve! In fact, dur­ing the rainy sea­son, the Many Water­falls Cross-Coun­try hike will have at least nine water­falls, with up to 14 flow­ing with­in a few days of a major rainstorm.

How­ev­er, their beau­ty is fleet­ing — the major ones, includ­ing Phan­tom Falls and Beat­son Falls, flow from the first storms in the win­ter through about April, while oth­ers only flow a few days after the big storms. All of them are dry through­out the summer.

If you are lucky and go on a hike after a big rain­storm in March, all the falls will be run­ning and there will be mil­lions of wild­flow­ers car­pet­ing the rocky flats (the entire area will also be very wet, which can make it dan­ger­ous to hike, giv­en the mud­dy, slip­pery con­di­tions and the many steep cliffs and drop-offs — so wear stur­dy shoes with good trac­tion and tread carefully).

Over­all, this loop makes for a great loca­tion for view­ing mul­ti­ple North­ern Cal­i­for­nia water­falls — all in one spot if you time your trip right.

Land Pass­es

A CDFW Lands Pass must be car­ried by each vis­i­tor who is 16 years of age or old­er, how­ev­er, vis­i­tors who are car­ry­ing a valid Cal­i­for­nia hunt­ing or fish­ing license in their name are exempt from this requirement. 

Lands pass­es may be pur­chased online, by phone at (800) 565‑1458, or in-per­son at loca­tions wher­ev­er hunt­ing and fish­ing licens­es are sold. Lands pass­es can­not be sub­sti­tut­ed for Wildlife Area Hunt­ing Pass­es, which are required for adult hunters on Type‑A and Type‑B wildlife areas.