Given the relative lack of signage, we suspect Heart Rock Falls is really more of a locals' waterfall or known to those who stay at the nearby (private) Camp Seeley. Both times we've visited this falls (once in late March 2005 at midday and another on Easter Sunday 2010 in the morning), there weren't many people around (at least certainly nowhere near the numbers seen at the more known waterfalls in the Southland).

Getting to the falls will probably require a bit of driving (since I'd imagine most visitors to this site don't live in or near Crestline or other mountain communities in the San Bernardino Mountains). We probably spent a little more time driving than the actual time on the trail itself.

As for the hike, we started near a sewage pipe cover on an open lot across the creek from Camp Seeley. From there, we meandered along a pretty well-used footpath leading past the outer reaches of the camp property (you'll be passing by a swimming pool) before the actual trail begins in earnest.

The trail is towered over by tall pine trees and follows Seeley Creek downstream (yep, it's an upside down hike) throughout the roughly one-mile each way (two miles round trip) to the Heart Rock Falls.

If there's no one around and this is your first time at the falls, it's pretty easy to miss the spur "trail" or scramble to the rocky ledge overlooking both the heart-shaped depression and the Seeley Creek Falls. The only hint that there's something down there is by the loudness of the rushing waters of Seeley Creek itself. If you keep going on the trail (as Julie and Mom did on our latest visit), you'll end up skipping the falls and joining with some road.

At the overlook ledge itself, we recommend you exercise caution because of how narrow the ledge and high up the dropoffs are. If you're not careful, you could take a real nasty spill into the little slot canyon right at the plunge pool of the falls below. It's for this reason that you might notice in some of the photos on this page that the falls tends to hug the cliff on the right. We simply didn't want to risk going further out towards the drop-offs for a cleaner shot (though theoretically, I suppose it is possible if you've got more of a death wish).

In addition to the ledge view, there's a fairly easy path that continues from the ledge area towards the plunge pool at the base of the Heart Rock Falls itself. Somehow we didn't notice this option the first time, but the last time we were here, we were glad to have found it. That's because from here, you can see the attractive falls nestled between the polished granite rock cliffs with the clear pool fronting the scene with the sounds of moving water providing that soothing background music appropriate for the scene. You can't see the heart-shaped depression from here, but it's definitely a more relaxing spot (as opposed to the narrow ledge above) to enjoy the falls before making the return to the car.

Take the exit on the right for Hwy 138 (the thoroughfare continues on as Hwy 18 if you miss this exit), and continue driving north on Hwy 138 for roughly 2.5 miles (you'll be going through the western outskirts of Crestline as well as through the town of Valley of Enchantment). Just north of the town, there'll be a well-signed entrance on the left for Camp Seeley. Take this entrance, and just before the private car park for Camp Seeley, veer left onto a narrow road going past a concrete ford over Seeley Creek.

Once you're past the ford, keep an eye out on your right for an open area near a sewage pipeline cover as well as a trail starting beneath some small power lines. Note that you're now across the creek from Camp Seeley from here. Look for parking somewhere within this open space.