Tenaja Falls Tenaja Falls is one of those waterfalls that might not seem like much to people outside the Southern California area, but considering how 150ft waterfalls are quite rare here and that it's near Lake Elsinore, it really is a pretty big deal! The falls itself cascades over several sliding cascades over exposed slippery-when-wet granite. The only way you can get a comprehensive view of the waterfall is from across the canyon on the trail leading to the falls itself. Once you're at the top of the falls, you'll have to do some daring scrambling (watch out for the slippery granite as it's very easy to fall into the many dropoffs and really hurt yourself) to get a frontal view of any part of the falls or to get into any of its pools.
You're looking at about 1.5 miles of round-trip hiking to the top of the falls and back. This doesn't count any additional scrambling you'll do to maneuver around the waterfalls themselves or any additional scrambling to find a way to cross the creek without getting your feet wet. [Back to top]  Distant look at Tenaja Falls in 2010 Closer look at the falls in 2010 Distant look at Tenaja Falls in 2009 Closer cross-canyon look at Tenaja Falls in 2009 Looking above the falls towards the scenic San Mateo Canyon Wilderness The car park The flooded concrete ford Avoiding the concrete ford for this stream crossing Wildflowers along the trail - always a pleasing sight[Back to top] Fixated on the full view of the falls as seen from the trail Sweep from the top of falls to the scenic canyon below Sweep from the uppermost tier to the scenic downstream canyon and lower cascades View World of Waterfalls in a larger map TRIP REPORTSFor more information about our experiences with this waterfall, check out the following travel stories.GUIDEBOOKS / OTHER RESOURCESNEARBY WATERFALLSHave You Been To This Waterfall?
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Updated Directions to Tenaja Falls
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Speaking of the trail, it's easy to go the wrong way (as we did) when you reach a fork close to the car park. One way has what looks like a barricade. The other way follows the stream downstream. If you avoid the barricade and took the fork on the left (as we initially did), you'll be headed to Fisherman's Camp and not the waterfall! But if you go past the barricade, you'll be immediately confronted with a stream crossing, and this is the way to go. You're probably going to get your feet wet unless you go further upstream and figure out a way to rock hop over pointed boulders to traverse the creek. The concrete ford is the most straightforward way to traverse the creek, but will guarantee to get your shoes wet as it's at least ankle to shin deep. 
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| 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] |
| 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] |
| 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] |
| 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] |
| 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] |
| 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] |
| 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] |
| 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] |
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