Boulder Creek Falls

Boulder Creek Falls in Whiskeytown National Park.

This week we received a letter from the current publisher of the Red Bluff Daily News, Greg Stevens. He begun his letter thanking us for our “valuable contribution.” Then went on to say they had “financial difficulties” and would “no longer pay for local columns,” but hoped that we would still “continue to contribute” them.
We do a lot of volunteer work for non-profit organizations but draw the line when it comes to for-profit businesses. So this will be our last column for now.
This week we hiked to Boulder Creek Falls in Whiskeytown Park. It was a lot of fun.
We researched the park’s website to find the directions to the trail. There are two ways to the falls. One starts about 2.5 miles past the Carr Powerhouse on South Shore Drive. That way is about 2.75 miles long one way, and has an elevation change of 1300 to 2250 feet, or 950 feet total change. The trail is a steady uphill climb and is rated “moderate.”
The falls can also be accessed by a trail that starts at Mill Creek Road. This trail is one mile in length one way and has an elevation change of only 80 feet. It is also rated as “moderate.” This is the trail we hiked.
Mill Creek Road is located about .5 miles from Highway 299 off Carr Powerhouse Road. It is a fairly rough jeep track that rapidly climbs the side of the hill for about two miles to the trailhead.
The park guide recommends a four-wheel drive vehicle, but we found that is probably not completely necessary. Any vehicle with good ground clearance, such as a pickup should have no trouble. The road is closed after the first winter storm and reopened in late spring.
There are two trails leading from the parking area. The trail on the left, which goes uphill, is the correct trail.
The first part of the trail climbs rather steeply for a short distance but then is mostly level for the rest of the walk. With a few exceptions, it is nicely shaded for the whole route.
After crossing the creek the trail proceeds to a fork. The right side goes to the falls and the left side goes back down to the South Shore Drive. The trail to the falls follows right along the creek to the base of the falls.
The falls are impressive this time of year with a considerable water flow. There is also a path of steps going up the side of the hill to an overlook where the entire 81 feet of the falls is visible, plus the 28 feet of cataracts above the falls.
It was not so difficult as to leave us exhausted, but was a good walk just the same. We thought it was on the easy side of the moderate rating. This would be a good family hike.
Farewell for now. Maybe we will see some of you in town from time to time.