Address: 2488 Cherokee Road, Oroville, Ca. 95965
North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve is located in Butte County and about 3 hour drive from San Francisco via I-80 East and CA-70 North. North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve is about 3,300 acres, elevated basalt, and created by ancient lava flows with beautiful colorful wildflowers, waterfalls, and vernal pools. There are a lot of non-native plant species and are good for hiking, wildlife, wildflower viewing, and hunting.
We arrived at the North Table Mountain at around 9:00 a.m. and parked outside of the parking lot on the side of the road. The parking lot inside the property was completely full by the time we arrived. We carried and brought our backpack with all the necessary items such as drinking water, food or light snacks, a first aid kit, sunscreen, and mosquito repellant. We saw about 15 porta-potties situated near the entrance and a few warning signs stated that you need to purchase a CDFW license online to enter the reserve and private property. A few waterfalls are located at the North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve such as the famous Phantom, Beatson, Hollow, and Ravine Falls.
It is easy to get lost at the North Table Mountain so we downloaded and follow the map on all trails. From the entrance, we choose the trail on the left and walked along the Creek all the way to the first fork or trail split. At the first trail split, if you go straight it will lead to the Ravine Falls and the right will take you to the Phantom Falls. We proceeded to the right and walked through a few meadows with beautiful wildflowers and a few cows. On the second split trail, there was another sign to Ravine Falls or to the Phantom Falls. The trail path to Phantom Falls will lead you to a Private Property with barbed wire which you have to go around it. While the path to the Ravine Falls is a challenging hike/trail since we had to climb over a few downed trees, cross a few creeks, walked through a narrow trail path, and hiked through the downhill and an uphill path leading to the Phantom Falls. After ascending from the Ravine Falls we passed through a private property gate and made a left. From the private property gate, we hiked for at least 20 minutes and arrived at Vista Point which gave us the best view of Phantom Falls and its beautiful surroundings. The Vista Point is made up of rocks and it’s near a cliff. Be careful as most of the trails have a lot of sharp rocks, mud, and dirt. We took a lot of pictures along the trail and saw a couple of people hiked all the way down to the bottom of the falls. There were a lot of people still arriving when we left at around 1 p.m. and it was hard to maneuver since the road is narrow and lots of cars parked on the side of the road. It took us about 3 1/2 hours out and back from the entrance to the Phantom falls which also includes stopping and taking pictures along the trail.
Overall, we enjoyed the challenging hike at North Table Mountain. We visited the Ravine Falls and Phantom Falls which are the two most visited waterfalls at North Table Mountain. There were a lot of people during our visit and we wore our masks while walking or close to other people due to Covid safety requirements.
Tips: Try to get there earlier before 9 a.m. to avoid the spring and summer crowd. And park your car closer to the entrance or on the side of the road for easier access going out. Wear good hiking shoes to prevent you from twisting your ankle due to a lot of big, pointed rocks along the trail. We visited the Reserve during the first week of Spring and saw all the beautiful wildflowers throughout the trail and the abundant water flow from the waterfalls.
Let me know if you have any questions or what you think about North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve 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.
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