About Frazier Falls
Frazier Falls (also known as Frazier Creek Falls) was a very impressively tall waterfall.
According to a sign here, it was said to be 176ft in height (or 248ft in total if you include the cascading sections).
In a way, this waterfall’s glacial origins kind of hinted at the kind of geology that we’d be seeing more of as we made our way to the Lake Tahoe area from nearby Graeagle.
In fact, the interplay of glaciers with the granite landscape that was common in this part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range made it apparent to us why Plumas National Forest had so many waterfalls.
This included the famed Feather Falls further to the west near Oroville.
Anyways, it was this glacial action of depressing the land then receding as the climate warmed to reveal hanging canyons and valleys that allowed for granite waterfalls like this to exist.
In the case of Frazier Falls, this action created Gold Lake, which ultimately sourced Frazier Creek some six miles further upstream.
Experiencing Frazier Falls
Accessing Frazier Falls involved a pretty straightforward walk of about a mile round-trip.
It led to an overlook that yielded the picture you see at the top of this page.
We wound up taking about an hour away from the car so it was a fairly short visit.
At the very minimum, Frazier Falls provided us with a nice opportunity to stretch our legs as we were in the midst of a pretty long drive between Lassen Volcanic National Park and South Lake Tahoe.
That said, there seemed to be many other ways to access this waterfall, which I’m sure exacerbated its popularity, but we stuck with the most straightforward method on our visit.
One thing that we noticed during our visit was that Frazier Creek seemed to be rapidly on the decline in terms of waterflow.
So that indicated to us that we were probably fortunate to have timed our visit for the middle of June when it could be a bit on the disappointing side going into July or later.
Description of the Frazier Falls Trail
From the well-signed trailhead and parking area (see directions below), we walked through the paved path flanked by a restroom.
Then, we passed between a handful of picnic tables under some initial shade.
Mom and I noticed that this was quite the popular place, especially since it seemed like the access to Frazier Falls was very convenient.
After all, the trail was pretty much paved the entire way meaning that it was wheelchair accessible.
In addition, the path was pretty much open to the sun, which revealed some interesting rocks (hinting at the geology at play here) as well as some hints of wildflowers in the bush mats flanking the trail.
The mostly flat trail curved this way and that as it meandered over a bridge crossing Frazier Creek while passing by some more rest benches (further confirming that this trail was built with all-access in mind).
Peering downstream from the bridge, we could glimpse where Frazier Creek would suddenly disappear over the falls.
After around 15-20 minutes of walking to cover the half-mile distance in each direction, we eventually reached the overlook area.
There were tall fences to keep people from being tempted to get any closer to the drop offs.
It was from here that we were able to peer directly down at the impressive Frazier Falls while also getting partial glimpses further down the canyon.
We had to be content with our views of the falls because it seemed like there was no safe and sane way to come close to getting down to its bottom.
So we did like most other people did and savored the views as much as possible before heading back the way we came.
While it wasn’t possible to safely get close to the water to cool off in the hot sun (during our visit, it was 82F at the car and 90F in nearby Graeagle), I guess that was what the recreational opportunities at Gold Lake was for.
Authorities
Frazier Falls resides in the Plumas National Forest near Graeagle in Siskiyou County, California. It is administered by the USDA Forest Service. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
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