California's Waterfalls

The only thing that keeps Fern Canyon, Gold Bluffs Beach, and the Coastal Trail's waterfalls from being completely overrun with tourists is the long, unpaved road to reach them. No trailers or RVs are allowed on gravelly Davison Road, so that eliminates plenty of visitors right there. In addition, the road has different moods in different weather: Sometimes it's smoothly graded, almost like glass, and sometimes it's full of potholes, or has a foot-deep stream running across it. You just never know. Well, if your vehicle can make the seven mile drive from US 101, you're in luck, because there are many hidden treasures at the end of Davison Road. Probably the most famous is Fern Canyon, a secluded, rocky grotto on Home Creek that is a veritable paradise of ferns growing on 50-foot-high canyon walls. There's also an excellent chance of seeing magnificent Roosevelt elk, maybe even looking eye-to-eye with some of these resident deer-on-steroids. Plus there's Gold Bluffs Beach, a pristine, windswept stretch of sand along the Pacific, where you can beachcomb and walk for miles.

The Coastal Trail

And last but certainly not least, there's the Coastal Trail, with three sweet waterfalls that drop alongside it. The trail traverses a flat route from the end of Davison Road to a backpacking camp 2.2 miles out, then it continues for another 2.2 miles along the coast before it climbs back out to the highway. If you just want to see its three falls along Gold Bluffs Beach, you need only walk (or ride your bike) 1.5 miles out from the parking lot.

The waterfalls are just slightly off the trail; you must listen for the gentle sound of splashing water, and keep looking to your right for spur trails leading into the trees. Each of these spurs is your ticket to one of three tall, narrow cataracts, all of them hidden in grottos carved from a canopy of spruce and alders.

Start your hike from the Fern Canyon parking lot, by negotiating the sometimes tricky crossing of Home Creek. The Coastal Trail starts due north of the lot, at a signpost on the far side of the creek. After the stream crossing, the rest of the trail is incredibly easy and flat, and it stays fairly dry even in the wettest weather. That's why bikes are allowed on this section of the Coastal Trail; the windswept bluffs have soil that is tough enough to withstand their weight and speed.

From the Forest to the Ocean

After a brief stint in the forest, the scenery opens up and you walk with the ocean on your left and tall vertical bluffs on your right. Be prepared to see big elk, who are usually grazing somewhere along the trail. In three trips here, I've always passed at least a dozen, usually big males with impressive racks. They tend to completely ignore hikers, although hikers rarely ignore them.

At 1.1 miles out, start listening for the sound of falling water on your right, and look for an unmarked spur trail leading into the alder and spruce forest. Follow the spur and you'll find the first cascade, an 80-foot narrow freefall, reminiscent of Hawaiian waterfalls — tall, slender, and delicate, surrounded by a myriad of ferns. On one visit here, we saw literally hundreds of three-inch-wide mushrooms growing on a log near the base of the fall, forming a thick forest of fungus. Walk a quarter mile further, listen for the sound of water, and look for the spur trail, and you'll find yourself holding court with Gold Dust Falls, even taller and more mystical-looking than the first fall. (The park has put up a sign on the Coastal Trail pointing out the spur to Gold Dust Falls, but every time I've visited, the sign is laying on the ground or hidden in the bushes.) Gold Dust Falls has a bench placed near its base for waterfall watching, but it's often soaking wet and covered with moss.

Gold Dust Falls

Gold Dust is the only fall of the three that has a name; it's dubbed for the short-lived 1850s gold rush along Gold Bluffs Beach, when five prospectors discovered gold dust in the sand and staked a claim. Thousands came to this beach and set up a tent city, but alas, extracting the gold turned out to be hard work that produced little profit. The boom ended almost as quickly as it began.

The third waterfall is very close to Gold Dust Falls; another couple hundred feet on the Coastal Trail brings you to its spur trail. It, too, is a tall, narrow cataract, hidden in the deep shade of forest and ferns. Pay a visit, and then turn around and head back, or continue hiking on the Coastal Trail. Your options include an out-and-back trip of up to nine miles along the coast, or a seven-mile loop: You can turn right on the West Ridge Trail at 2.2 miles, then connect to the Friendship Ridge Trail, and follow it back to Fern Canyon and the parking area.

Trip notes: Unlike the other waterfalls in this survey, there is a day-use fee for the park. A map of the park is available at the entrance kiosk. For more information, contact Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Orick, CA 95555; (707) 464-6101.

Directions: From Eureka, drive north on US 101 for 41 miles to Orick. Continue north for 2.5 more miles to Davison Road, then turn left (west) and drive seven miles to the Fern Canyon Trailhead. No trailers or RVs are permitted on unpaved Davison Road.