San Antonio Falls

San Antonio Falls is one of those waterfalls where you'd want to time your visit for the peak snowmelt when Mt Baldy (formally known as Mt San Antonio) has had a bit of snow during the Winter.

You can usually get a decent feel for how much snow the mountain has simply by looking east (assuming the haze from the smog isn't too overwhelming) at one of the few south-facing mountains with snow on it. Chances are the tallest one would be Mt Baldy. Of course on a low precipitation year (lately our climate has been such that it's either all or nothing in terms of Winter precipitation since the millenium), the mountain may not even have snow at all!

So assuming you're up for a waterfalling excursion in alpine scenery and the it's mid- to late-Spring, San Antonio Falls is a nice mountain waterfall probably dropping at least 100-150ft or so (though Ann Marie Brown has it at 80ft) in a series of three drops. The hike (more like a stroll on pavement) towards the overlook provides pleasant vistas towards the LA Basin when you look downslope, and the falls is towered over by tall scree mountains making the falls look miniscule by comparison.

The first time Julie and I were here back in 2005, it followed a very wet Winter, and the falls didn't disappoint. However, there was considerably more people as well as less snow cover back then than it was on our latest visit. Moreover, it looked like the Falls Road (which is what you hike about 1.5 miles round trip to get to the falls) is a pretty well-maintained road (we swore it was unpaved the last time), and we later found out near the falls that there's a private cabin complete with driveways there. We're not sure if we remembered seeing this private property before, but that would explain why the road's in such decent shape. By the way, there's a gate at the Falls Road turnoff preventing public vehicular access. That's why you have to walk the road, which is gradually uphill as it makes its way to the overlook area of the falls.

Once you're at the overlook, there's a narrow path that takes you right to the base of San Antonio Falls. Both times we were here, there's a pretty well-worn section of the track that you'll probably want to have shoes with decent grip, because that section's narrow, slippery, and prone to making you slip into the little ravine (not a good thing) from which it might be a bit difficult to scramble back up assuming your limbs are still functional. Depending on the conditions, there maybe snow on the path as it was for us.

But before getting to the trailhead, we recommend that when you reach Baldy Village, you pick up an Adventure Pass or Recreation Pass in one of the handful of outfitters and shops there. That's because the falls is on Angeles National Forest land and parked vehicles are supposed to display these passes.

If you followed Ann Marie Brown's directions (like we did the first time), she has you getting off Euclid Ave from the I-210 and taking it north as it becomes Mountain Ave. It'll eventually become Shinn Road shortly before joining Mt Baldy Road, where you turn right to continue climbing up the mountain.

Speaking of climbing, I want to mention that for steep mountain roads like this (especially on the hairpins and grades beyond Baldy Village), you'll probably want to be honest with yourself about whether your car has enough power and endurance to handle roads like this. In the case of our Corolla with 230k miles on it, we managed to make it, but we did have a bit of a scare when we parked the car at the trailhead and noticed some steam or smoke protruding from the hood (despite the fact that the car made no indication of overheating or abnormally high engine temperatures). Just keep this in mind if you have an old car, because it's not exactly a nice place to have a break down.

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Parked vehicles on Mt Baldy Road; you'll want to display an Adventure Pass or Recreation Pass to avoid getting ticketed

A gate prevents vehicular access by public vehicles

Julie on the paved Falls Road

Attractive vista back towards the basin

Julie going past a private driveway. No wonder why the Falls Road was so well-maintained!

Julie approaching the base of San Antonio Falls

A couple at the base of San Antonio Falls

Looking up at the bottom tier of the falls with a waterwheel

Distant view of San Antonio Falls from 5 years ago

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Brief bottom up sweep from the overlook area


Bottom up sweep of the falls from the trail leading to its base