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9 Whiskeytown Falls
| Base of falls in Nov.(~35 ft.)
Middle section of falls in Nov.
Upper section of falls in Jan.
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Upper section of falls in Nov.
Base of falls in Apr.
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Location: Redding, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Shasta County
Height: 220 ft.
Access:  
Distance: 3.4 miles (RT)
Elevation: 2200 ft. (+700 ft.)
Season: year-round
Difficulty: 
Lat/Long:40.62599, -122.66891
Directions:From Hwy 299 (3.5 miles west of Oak Bottom), turn left on Crystal Creek Rd. Drive 3.6 miles and turn left into the parking area and trailhead. There is limited parking and it may be full on weekends. There is also a $5 park fee, which can be paid at the trailhead or visitor center.
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Whiskeytown Falls is an awesome 220 ft. cascade, located at Whiskeytown Natl. Recreation Area, just outside of Redding in northern California. The cascade drops off Shasta Bally along the east fork of Crystal Creek, eventually dumping into Whiskeytown Lake, which until recently, has been noted more for its boating and swimming, then for its waterfalls.
This incredible waterfall amazingly had been unknown amongst park staff and the general public for forty years until it was “re-discovered” by ranger Russ Weatherbee in 2004. Jim Milestone, the park’s superintendent, was able to divert funds to build an official trail to the waterfall, and it received international attention when the story of this “new” waterfall broke out in the press in 2005. The new trail opened officially to the public in Aug. 2006. Before it had been opened, my wife and I managed to arrange for Jim Milestone to give us our own personal guided tour to Whiskeytown Falls, for which we are very grateful. Jim is a very knowledgeable man, and I am impressed with how quickly he was able to build a new trail to the falls, especially in this age of cutbacks.
The trail to Whiskeytown Falls is only about 1.5 miles long and it is a moderately difficult hike, climbing about 700 ft. in elevation up to the waterfall. The trail mostly follows an old logging road, which has been cleared and improved by park staff. Some signs of the 1950’s logging are still evident in places along the trail. At the base of the falls, you only see the bottom 35 ft. of the cascade. The entire length of the cascade is not visible from any single location (except from the air). But the trail leads up alongside the falls where you can see the upper sections. Most of the 220 ft. of the cascade can be seen from the trail, except for the very top section. When the story first appeared in the press in 2005, I read some reports Whiskeytown Falls was 500 ft. high, then the figure dwindled to 400 ft., and then 300 ft. However, it was officially measured by park staff with a clinometer as being 220 ft. high, and this figure is in line with the topographic maps, so I believe it is accurate.
History of Whiskeytown Falls. The waterfall was initially found by park staff back in the 1960’s. It was even given the name “Whiskeytown Falls” by the park’s first superintendent, Leon Mitchell, and his park staff. However, they decided to keep the location of the waterfall a secret because the park was in the process of buying the land on which the waterfall was located, and the landowners unbelievably did not know the waterfall even existed. If they had known, it would have made the sale more difficult or impossible. Later, when Mitchell suddenly died and the other park staff left the area, the knowledge of the waterfall left with them. Amazingly, for the next 40 years the existence of Whiskeytown Falls was unknown by park staff. And yet at the same time, it was known by some locals. For example, my brother-in-law had heard of the waterfall some 10 or 15 years ago and had even attempted to find it (unsuccessfully). Access to the waterfall was very difficult because the old logging road had been completely overgrown. If you didn’t know exactly where it was located, it would have been extremely hard to find it.
Zoom out on map to see all nearby waterfalls:
Other waterfalls nearby:
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