Waterfalls in SD County (San Diego, Laguna: hotels, home, campgrounds)

[Rucadog]

Anyone know of any good waterfalls in SD County? I've lived here for a couple years now and have heard there are a few in the county but it's a petty big hike to get to them. Has anyone had any experience searching for the waterfalls here? Any info would be great! I'm originally from New England and we had lots of rivers/falls back home so I'd love to take an adventure into the "woods" here and see what a Southern California waterfall looks like! Thanks!

[bloom]

Cottonwood Creek Falls Trail in Mt. Laguna off of Sunrise Highway
Pensaquitos Canyon Trail
Outside of SD County, Yosemite Valley is supposedly having a banner waterfall early summer.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by bloom

Cottonwood Creek Falls Trail in Mt. Laguna off of Sunrise Highway
Pensaquitos Canyon Trail
Outside of SD County, Yosemite Valley is supposedly having a banner waterfall early summer.

Cedar Creek Falls in Ramona...which has garnered some media attention for the wrong reasons. Apparently the Devils Punch Bowl has a facebook page

[sdhkshdcny09]

Three Sisters Falls! probably my favorite hike in the county as well..

[mricu]

I second three sisters falls. It is quite a sight, however the hike itself is not the easiest. Not sure if any of the falls will be that strong at this time of the year as they may be dried up by now. They are usually flowing at their peak in the spring time.

[sdhkshdcny09]

Originally Posted by mricu

I second three sisters falls. It is quite a sight, however the hike itself is not the easiest. Not sure if any of the falls will be that strong at this time of the year as they may be dried up by now. They are usually flowing at their peak in the spring time.

a few of my friends went last weekend and were able to slide down the lowest fall, but it drying up quick!

[esmith143]

I heard about Cedar Creek and Three Sisters, but neither one is particularly accessible. Cedar Creek is about 3 miles round trip with 1000' elevation gain along the way. That's from the new trailhead near Ramona that was just completed last year (I think). Before that, if you wanted to get to Cedar Creek Falls, it involved a long 4x4 drive on an unpaved road from Julian.

I don't recall any real waterfalls anywhere in Pensaquitos Canyon.

Yosemite has the best waterfalls in the state (if not in the entire country), nothing we have in SD county comes close.

California waterfalls are very seasonal. Our local waterfalls are at their best during winter and spring, because there's no real snowcap and they flow in the aftermath of strong rains. In places like Yosemite, the peak comes during the thawing of the snowcap in Sierra Nevada, which is happening right about now (more generally, April to June). That makes these months an extremely hot tourist season, when all campgrounds are sold out for months in advance, and all hotels within 1 hour drive from Yosemite Valley are either sold out or charge exorbitant fees.

[ibman]

Check out Afoot and Afield San Diego by Jerry Schad. It gives you directions, distances, difficulty level, etc. along with hikes throughout the county.

To get acquainted with San Diego County backcountry with easy hikes, check out the San Diego Natural History Museum Canyoneers The Canyoneer trips begin again in September.