Address: Mc Cloud Falls Road, McCloud, Ca. 96057
The Mc Cloud river runs through 3 basalt rocks waterfalls and ends on a lush meadow. McCloud waterfalls have 3 areas where you can park, walk to Vista Point and enjoy the different sections of the waterfalls. The top of the falls, middle falls, and lower falls. Each area or section has a parking space and public restroom available. The Upper falls parking area is less crowded than the middle and lower falls which are both very popular. It’s about an hour’s drive from Burney Falls by taking CA-89 North. We visited Mc Cloud River Falls twice one in August 2020 and May 2021. We only get to explore the lower and middle falls on our first visit while we explore the Upper and Middle falls section on our second visit.
We first visited and parked on the Upper Falls section and walked for about 5-10 minutes to the Vista Point with railings installed for safety. We took a lot of pictures on the Upper Falls Vista Point and my daughter even played with the cold river water near the parking area. We then drove for about 5 minutes to the Middle falls parking area and walked for about 5 minutes to Vista Point. We then walked a little further down on a narrow dirt trail that led us closer to the Middle Falls. We navigated for at least 20 minutes on the downhill trail by passing through wooden stairs, few switchbacks, a downed tree, rocks, and dirt. When we arrived at the Middle falls, we still navigated through a lot of big and slippery rocks or boulders to get very close to the waterfalls. We were lucky enough to have witnessed a few cliff divers that were jumping off from the top of the waterfalls.
During our first visit, we parked in the lower falls area. We saw a few people swimming and diving into the water from the edge of the falls. We then proceeded to hike up towards the middle falls for about 0.7 miles one way on a dirt trail. We had to pass through a campsite area, trees and followed the sign to the Middle Falls. The Middle Falls is breathtaking and has a very nice wide cascading waterfall effect. We saw a few people swimming in the cold river water.
Tips: Please wear hiking boots, bring a water bottle and hiking pole if you are hiking the trail down to the Middle Falls from Vista Point. Wear your mask and practice social distancing especially in the Middle Falls. You may bring your own food and use some of the picnic tables available around the area.
Let me know if you have any questions or what you think about The Mc Cloud Falls after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.