Burney, McCloud, and Mossbrae Falls
- meems
- Aug 5, 2016
- 7 min read
For my 23rd birthday, I loaded up my car at 4 AM, along with my friends and boyfriend, and drove 3.5 hours one way to embark on an adventure. I have been wanting to hike to Burney, McCloud, and Mossbrae Falls for quite some time now but haven't made the trip because it is pretty far from where I live. As I prepared for the hike, I felt pretty ambitious trying to squeeze all three hikes in one day but I knew that it wasn't every day that I would be driving to the Redding/Shasta area so I wanted to make the most of it. What better day to choose this adventure than my birthday so that my friends couldn't call me insane. =D (They still called me crazy but went along with it cause it was my birthday.)
Pictured above is the journey that we were about to embark on.
Our first destination was Burney Falls. I typed in "McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial State Park" into Google Maps and 3.5 hours later, we finally made it! Parking at the state park is $8.
Burney Falls is a short and easy hike. It only took a few steps to get to the falls overlook. We made it to the falls within our first five minutes of walking and it was just breathtaking.
The squad and the falls. It was about 9 AM and being in such close proximity to the falls made it freezing cold! If you go in the morning like we did, I would bring a sweater so that you can stay longer by the water and take in the falls.
President Theodore Roosevelt called the falls "The Eighth Wonder of the World."
After enjoying the falls, you can either walk back up or take the falls loop trail around. We wanted to walk around and enjoy the area a bit more so we took the short hike.
You will cross two bridges. This is bridge one.
Bridge two.
Us after Burney Falls.
There is a bathroom and a general store by the parking area. We got here early on that Monday around 9 AM and were one of the first few people in the parking lot. When we made it back, the parking lot was filling up quick and there were many people at the falls. P.S. There are many bees around the parking area! Sunscreen and insect repellent yourself up! Next up: McCloud Falls!
When we left the Burney-McArthur State Park, we turned left on CA - 89 N. We were on this road for about 30-45 minutes. While on the drive to McCloud Falls, there is the most amazing view of Mount Shasta. Roll down your windows and just take it all in. The beauty cannot be explained. There will be signs as you pull into the campground. When you see signs for Fowlers Campground, turn left and follow the road. Follow the signs for the Lower Falls and there is a small parking lot with bathrooms. Parking is free here. There aren't a lot of parking spots but we got here around 11 AM on a summer Monday and was able to snag a spot still. When we were ready to go, it took me a while to find the entrance. Walk past the bathrooms and you will see some picnic tables. Keep going and you will see steps and the lower falls.
Pictured above is the lower falls. This is probably the least appealing of the three falls but is also the most crowded usually.
Me on top of the lower falls.
This is where things get interesting. When we first got here, there were two boys and an older gentleman that accompanied them in this area only. They were jumping from the rocks into the water! This sparked the attention of the three guys in our group and with a little bit of coaching from "Connor", they jumped in! Pictured above are our guys getting ready to jump in.
The boys after their jumps!
After the lower falls, we continued on the hike to the middle falls. It was about 1.5 miles away from the lower falls. The great thing about the McCloud Falls is that if you do not want to hike but want to see the falls, there are parking areas that make each of the falls accessible without having to do the 4 mile hike.
Pictured above is the Middle Falls. This one is the most magnificent of the three falls and we spent a bit of a time here just taking in the moment. We had to climb some rocks to get closer to the falls but we did it. We saw some people swimming here and a brave kid that jumped off from the very top into the water. TWICE. It was insane.
Climbing rocks to try to get closer to the waterfall.
My bestie admiring the falls.
As we hiked our way up to the upper falls, we had a magnificent view of the middle falls from above.
Finally, the upper falls!
There was a huge crowd at the bottom of the falls. And to be honest, we have no idea how they all got down there. It looked like they climbed over the fence and just rolled down or something. Since we were starving at this point, we sat on some rocks at the overlook above and ate lunch while enjoying the view of the falls. After lunch, we hightailed it back to the lower falls.
My best friend and I decided that we were going to embrace life, be adventurous, and jump! We did this right before we left. As you can see, it got extremely crowded. I am so proud of myself and my best friend for facing our fears and jumping. It was so terrifying and liberating all at the same time. It was at this moment that I knew that life is about adventure and stepping outside of the box and doing things that terrify you because that feeling after? It's the greatest and most indescribable feeling.
After McCloud Falls, we headed on over to our next adventure. This one is definitely the part where everyone thought I was most insane. Mossbrae Falls, here we come!
Alright, here is my disclaimer. In order to get to the Mossbrae Falls, you will need to trespass and risk being fined. A few years ago, a woman got hit by a train and they decided to no longer provide access to the falls via the Union Pacific Railroad. The city is trying to find a safer route for people to access the falls so until then, trespassing it is. If you are up for it, despite the craziness, keep on reading. In my opinion, if you utilize common sense and are aware of your surroundings, you will be fine making this journey.
Input "Shasta Retreat" in your GPS. This is the area that you have to walk through to get to the railroad tracks.
Once you arrive at the Shasta Retreat, DO NOT turn in. Find parking on the side of the street. You will get a parking ticket if you park inside. We found parking on Scarlett Way and Dunsmuir.
When you are ready, walk through the Shasta Retreat sign and go all the way down the hill until you hit the bridge and railroad tracks. After that, turn right at the tracks.
Cross this bridge to the tracks.
Start your mile long journey on these tracks. Use common sense here people! If you hear any indication that a train is coming, get on to the side of the tracks.
Every quarter mile, there is a marker that tells you how far you have gone. When you see the 3/4 mile marker above, you are very close.
Once you the see the bridge and rock pictured above, you have arrived! Go down the covered path by the rock that says Mossbrae and you will see a beautiful sight.
We made it!!
Mossbrae Falls and all of its beauty right behind us.
Swimming at the falls! The one thing about hiking to a waterfall which requires you to trespass is that barely anyone is there. When we arrived, one group was leaving so we had the falls all to ourselves. FYI, the water is FREEZING cold. The rocks also hurt your feet so I recommend bringing some water shoes.
Me attempting to get a picture under the falls. I obviously failed because the water kept pushing me to the other side and I'm not the greatest swimmer.
The most amazing waterfall.
Before we left Mossbrae Falls for one last journey before heading home, I took a video of the falls and soaked in the calm and peace that came with this place.
After finishing up at the falls, we hiked back, found no parking ticket, and started our journey back home.
We made a pit stop at the SunDial Bridge at Turtle Bay. My first time here and it was so interesting! And also hot. Very very hot.
Sundial bridge view from below.
My friend Chris made this amazing video to document our trip. Enjoy!
Recommendations:
- Be prepared for an all day journey. We left at 4:30 AM and got home at 10 PM.
- Bring toilet paper, hand sanitizer, sunblock, insect repellent, and extra plastic bags for trash.
- Pack an ice chest to keep in your trunk and bring Gatorade, Water, Ice, Snacks, and a packed lunch. I picked up sandwiches and chips and we ate them at the Upper Falls overlook. We ate quick snacks for breakfast, ate our sandwiches for lunch, snacked, and then had In-N-Out after the SunDial Bridge.
- Bring water shoes for this journey because there was opportunity to swim everywhere and the rocks really hurt our feet.
- Bring a GoPro or camera and if waterproof, that's even better.
- Bring a portable charger for your camera/phone so you can take pictures and navigate.
- Do lots of research and input the addresses of your next location in while you have signal because some parts of the entire journey, we had no service.
- Keep an open mind. I know that I did not wake up that day planning to jump in freezing cold water from a rock. However, that experienced changed my life.
- Soak it all in. To this day, I think about that trip at odd hours and just reminisce.
Here are my thoughts about the trip:
- All three hikes are doable on the same day if you wanted to try it.
- Of all the waterfalls we saw, Burney Falls was probably the most magnificent.
- McCloud Falls provided the most thrill thanks to the rock jumping.
- Mossbrae Falls was the most majestic and peaceful.
- Roundtrip, I would say we hiked about 8 miles all day.
Looking back on that day, I can say it was one of the greatest days of my life. We went on three hikes, saw five waterfalls, jumped off a rock, walked across a glass bridge, and made so many memories. I have never experienced so much adventure, thrill, and fun. Would I go back? Hell yes and I plan on bringing the rest of the gang with me.
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