Home
Blog
Search Site
Sitemap

Special Topics
Books
Equipment
Movies & TV
Photography Tips
FAQ
Waterfalls 101
Featured Articles

World's Best Waterfalls
Top 10 Waterfalls
Regional Top 10 Lists
The SoCal Top 10
Tallest Waterfalls
Iguazu Falls
Victoria Falls
Niagara Falls
Plitvice Waterfalls
Angel Falls

Waterfalls
In The USA

Regions
American Southwest
Pacific Northwest
Eastern US
Special States California
Hawaii
New York
Oregon
Special Parks Yosemite
Yellowstone

Waterfalls
Around The World

The Americas
Canada
Caribbean
Latin America

Asia
Asia
China
Japan
Thailand
India

Oceania
Australia
New Zealand
South Pacific

Europe and Africa
Europe
Iceland
Norway
Africa

Waterfall Community
Travel Stories
Contributions
Share A Story
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise Here
Links
Updates
 

Marble Falls

Marble Falls



Marble Falls actually consists of several cascades both upstream and downstream from the main falls itself.

The Marble Fork Kaweah River rages in the spring providing a loud and powerful display for waterfall enthusiasts wishing to do this tiring and mostly sun-exposed 7.4-mile (
Ann Marie Brown has it at 7 miles) return hike with 1500ft elevation gain. Speaking of tiring and sun-exposed, I'd recommend getting an early start so at least you can take advantage of some shadows due to low sun angle and neighboring hills so the uphill part of the hike to get there is more bearable, and the downhill return can be in the sun. This trail is said to be snow-free in the Winter so you can be it gets real hot the closer to Summer you get.

Contextual view of part of the falls near the trail apexThe trail begins at the Potwisha Campground (see directions below) next to campsite #16. It starts off by following what looks to be a little canal (with some contraptions possibly for small scale hydroelectricity) before veering up the hill and starting to ascend up some switchbacks.

The trail continues climbing and there maybe some foliage growing onto the trail in the Spring. The foliage maybe a launching point for ticks, which have been known to be present on this trail (and the one that got into me [see trip report below] might have come from this trail).

Throughout the hike, the canyon is always to your left dropping off steeply sometimes revealing the raging Marble Fork Kaweah River but sometimes hiding itself amongst the foliage. I recalled the river was always within earshot though.

Contextual view of part of the falls further along the trailAnd as you get to the apex of the elevation gain, you'll start to see where the river drops steeply revealing powerful cascades in the distance. From here, the trail descends and gets closer to the falls, and by the time you get to a part where you can photograph it again, you only get to see a roughly 30-40ft sloping part of it.

Our early start enabled us to see some rainbows in the mist of this section of the falls. But further progress (to see additional cascades) was not possible given the state of the river (people have died here trying in the past). I'd imagine that would only be possible when the water levels are low in late Summer, but you still have to watch out for slippery granite and marble as well as the possibility of flash floods from mountain thunderstorms.

Speaking of marble, you'll definitely come across slabs of the stuff as you get closer to the falls. That's how Marble Falls got its name.

Directions: The Potwisha Campground is accessed from the twisty Generals Highway just one stop southwest of Hospital Rock. It's just under 4 miles east of the Ash Mountain Entrance Station at the southern end of Sequoia National Park near Three Rivers. You can get to Three Rivers from Visalia via Hwy 198. Even though the Potwisha Campground turnoff will be to your left, you'll probably realize that there's no parking for day hikers (unless you've secured a campground there). So across the Generals Highway, there's spillover parking, which was where we managed to park our car when we last did this hike.

[Back to top]

The spillover car park across the Potwisha CampgroundThe spillover car park across the Potwisha Campground

Mom walking along the canal and river itselfMom walking along the canal and river itself

Signed turnoff beginning the official trailSigned turnoff beginning the official trail and climb

Mom walking through narrow trail flanked by lots of wildflowers as well as tick-prone foliageMom walking through narrow trail flanked by lots of wildflowers as well as tick-prone foliage

Mom continuing the climb as we go higher up the Marble Fork CanyonMom continuing the climb as we go higher up the Marble Fork Canyon

Looking down at one of the cascades downstream from the main part of Marble FallsLooking down at one of the cascades downstream from the main part of Marble Falls

Looking down at another section of the cascades downstream from the main drop of Marble FallsLooking down at another section of the cascades downstream from the main drop of Marble Falls

Late morning rainbow at Marble FallsLate morning rainbow at the falls


View World of Waterfalls in a larger map



TRIP REPORTS
For more information about our experiences with this waterfall, check out the following travel stories.

GUIDEBOOKS / OTHER RESOURCES


NEARBY WATERFALLS




Have You Been To This Waterfall?

Share your experience!

Click here to see visitor comments for this waterfall

Click here to see visitor comments for other waterfalls that we've visited in this region

Click here to go to the Comments Main Page

Enter Your Title

What Other Visitors Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

Great Hike (Marble Falls)  Not rated yet
I went with a group of young boy scouts on this hike in mid-November. It was a cool dry day, so the hike was much easier than expected. Not as steep ...



[Back to top]

[Go to the Southern and Central Sierras Waterfalls Page]

[Go to the California Page]


[Return from Marble Falls to the World of Waterfalls Home Page]






FOLLOW US ON:   Facebook   Twitter


There's lots to say about California and its waterfalls. Click on one of the following links to jump to the section you're interested in...

If you like this page,
you might also like...

Sierra Waterfalls
Southern and Central
Sierras Waterfalls

California Map
California Waterfalls

Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park

America's Top 10
America's Top 10

Other Californian Attractions
Other Californian
Attractions

California Travel Stories
California Travel Stories

A Waterfalling Adventure
Tell YOUR Story!


Featured Visitor Stories
or Comments


A Wet Day
First, thanks for this cool website its nice to know about hidden gems in our backyard. We went on May 24th, 2008 and had the pleasure of seeing a running stream all the way...[more]


Moon Walking & Rock Slides
We would climb up the falls along the crevice to the left of the falls all the way up then over to the chute to the left of the falls and run down the gravel chute...[more]


CMarie (Upper Escondido Falls)
This hike is AMAZING! I was happy going through this trail with a few friends as it was quite pretty.The road up is a long one and there were...[more]


Burney Falls - Burney, California
Glad to know there are waterfall lovers like myself. I am enjoying the website. I thought I would post to you a picture of a waterfall in California that is...[more]


Three Sisters Waterfall - San Diego, CA
I was so surprised not to see the Three Sisters Waterfall in Descanso, CA (San Diego County) on your list & then remembered it's a fairly well kept secret...[more]


Heart Rock Falls
I absolutely loved the scenery of this whole hike and destination. It was very confusing to get there and we had to make a few U-Turns, but it was definitely worth...[more]


Blackstar Canyon - Hidden Falls of Orange County
About a year ago, I was given a newspaper article describing these hidden falls in Orange County. The article itself did not specify the exact location, so I did some hunting online...[more]


Emerald Falls (near Fillmore, CA)
Here is what I can only assume is called "Emerald Falls" just north of Filmore in Southern California. (In Los Padres National Forest) I think it is hands down...[more]


Explore the
World of Waterfalls

World of Waterfalls Map
See Where We've Been!

Top 10 Waterfalls
The World's Top 10

Waterfalls FAQ
Waterfalls FAQ

Waterfalls 101
Waterfalls 101

World of Waterfalls: An Emotive Journey
Take an Emotive Journey!


Waterfalls Blog


Weather