California's Waterfalls

Paradise Falls seems like Paradise, a little slice of protected wilderness in a tangle of freeways and subdivisions. A visit to the waterfall and its surroundings in Wildwood Park can change your perspective on things, make you feel like there's still plenty of good in the world, even if you're sitting in 101 gridlock on your commute to downtown.

One of the amazing things about Paradise Falls is that it's so easy to reach. Just drive a few miles off the freeway and take a short walk on fire roads. From Wildwood Park's Arboles parking lot, hike due west on the Mesa Trail for a half mile to the North Tepee Trail, then turn left and head down to the falls. (This is one of several possible routes; you have many options, including driving a half mile beyond the Arboles parking lot to a lower lot, cutting some distance off your hike. Check out the park trail maps at the Arboles lot.)

Soon you'll enter the canyon, where you'll see many signs directing you to Paradise Falls, or sometimes Wildwood Falls, the cascade's less imaginative name. The best approach is via the Wildwood Canyon Trail, hiking in from the east so you can see the stream just before it makes its tremendous hurtle over a basalt lip. The trail parallels the creek downhill to the fall's base. A chain link fence keeps you from tumbling down the hillside at the steepest dropoffs.

Even in low water, Paradise Falls makes a frothy white stream, with a startlingly wide pool at the bottom, more like a large pond, about 50 yards wide. You can't get directly in front of the fall without getting your feet wet, so most people view it from the side. From this angle, the middle section is obscured by a large rock, but that just makes it look more interesting.

If you have trouble imagining a 70-foot waterfall in Thousand Oaks, you should lace up your sneakers and see for yourself. From the parking lot, you may rate this place as "Least Likely Spot for a Good Waterfall," but hey, prepare to be surprised.

Trip notes: There is no fee to enter the park. For more information and a free park brochure and map, contact Wildwood Park, c/o Conejo Recreation and Park District in Thousand Oaks, California.

Directions: From US 101 in Thousand Oaks, take the Lynn Road exit and head north. Drive 2.5 miles to Avenida de los Arboles, then turn left. Drive nine-tenths of a mile and make a U-turn into the Arboles parking lot on the left side of the road.