About Garland Ranch Falls
Garland Ranch Falls was an ephemeral waterfall that happened to be within the popular Garland Ranch Regional Park in Carmel Valley.
In my mind, it’s kind of a waterfaller’s excuse to experience a different side of Carmel, Monterey, and the Big Sur Coast because it sits close to these locations.
This valley, where the Carmel River flows, seemed to be the fruit-growing and wine-growing alternative to the otherwise rocky coastlines of Big Sur itself.
As you can see from the photo above, seeing the 70ft Garland Ranch Falls perform requires some serious timing for right after a heavy rain.
Our visit in early February 2021 occurred a week after a strong storm hit the Big Sur area with 4-6″ of rain in some areas.
This storm even caused a landslide along Rat Creek that closed Highway 1 through Big Sur for several months.
And yet, the waterfall was essentially dry during that visit, which really forced me to reconcile how quickly we had to act if we were to see the Garland Ranch Falls perform.
So on a return visit in early March 2024, it occurred about 3-4 days after the passing of a series of storms that exceeded the state’s long-term annual average rainfall total within a span of a month.
However, that particular visit also yielded the aforementioned photo at the top of this page, which gives you a sense of how long this waterfall lasts when it does flow.
Indeed, the Garland Ranch Falls was really more of a side attraction as the park offers a nice relaxing hike with the chance to see wildflowers in the Spring, some views from the neighboring mountains, and maybe even the odd wildlife or two.
Personally, I’d only consider chasing this waterfall if we just so happened to come right after a passing storm in a year of heavy precipitation (a strategy that even the park map emphasizes).
Accessing and Experiencing Garland Ranch Falls
From one of the plentiful parking spaces at the Garland Ranch Regional Park (see directions below), we backtracked towards a year-round footbridge traversing the Carmel River.
There was actually supposed to be a second bridge over the Carmel River closer to the large parking lot leading directly to the Garland Ranch Visitor Center.
However, it was out during both of our visits, and I understand that they typically put the bridge back up around mid-April timeframe.
Anyways, once we got past the sturdy bridge (capable of accommodating vehicular traffic from staff), we then followed the Lupine Loop Trail (i.e. the main trail) following the Carmel River upstream towards the visitor center.
During this wide open and flat walk, we noticed several trail junctions leading to loops like the rest of the Lupine Loop, the Cottonwood Trail, or Sycamore Trail among others.
Nevertheless, we just kept left and stuck with the riverside part of the Lupine Loop Trail while enjoying the expansive views across Carmel Valley and the odd wildflowers in bloom (including California poppies, which are the state’s flower).
In roughly 0.2-mile, we reached the Carmel Valley Visitor Center, which had some brochures as well as a nice relief map of the park.
Sometimes they run ranger talks, where they put pelts on display while explaining the history and environment of the Garland Ranch Regional Park.
In the clearing fronting the visitor center, I also noticed picnic tables and interpretive signs fronting the vegetation endemic to this area like the Monterey pines, Monterey cypress, chaparral, and coast live oak among others.
Keeping on the main trail to our left, we continued along the general trajectory of the Carmel River for another 0.6-mile before reaching a fork in the path shortly after other trails (i.e. the Sycamore Trail or Cottonwood Trail) converged from the right.
At this point, we had a choice of going straight towards an ascent or descending on a narrower trail to the left (the latter usually has a private property sign fronting it).
We kept straight to go onto the so-called Waterfall Trail to continue the final few paces towards the Garland Ranch Falls.
During the ascent, there were still more trails coming in from the right, but they led up to the Sky Trail as well as the Cliff Trail, which ultimately would ascend up to Siesta Point for expansive views.
That said, we kept going straight on the Waterfall Trail, which eventually bent to the right alongside the seasonal creek that belongs to the outflow of Garland Ranch Falls.
Shortly after crossing over a bridge over this seasonal creek, the trail eventually ascended to the base of Garland Ranch Falls.
The trail would continue climbing up and away from the waterfall to eventually join up with the Mesa Trail and perhaps the pond or lake that would normally feed the Garland Ranch Falls when it would overflow.
By this point, we had gone roughly 1.3 miles from where we had parked, turn around and head back to conclude the excursion.
However, as you can see from all the trail junctions, there were plenty of ways to extend a visit here to fully experience the subtle beauty that the Garland Ranch Regional Park had to offer.
A Brief Extension of the Excursion – Nice Rapids on the Carmel River
Speaking of extending our visit, when we backtracked downhill to the trail junction at the bottom of the descent, we then headed down the narrower trail towards the Carmel River.
Apparently, this trail traversed in an area that was apparently private property (according to the signage), but we stopped roughly 0.1-mile from the Waterfall Trail, where we arrived at some attractive rapids on the Carmel River.
Given the disappointment of Garland Ranch Falls running dry, this quaint rapids was a nice consolation prize to chill out by the sounds of running water while watching the morning sun paint the surrounding scenery with its light.
The trail didn’t seem to proceed any further from here, and I’d imagine this was probably some trail that was created by visitors and maybe tolerated by the owner of the land that prompted the private property signage.
Only after having our fill of these rapids on the Carmel River did we wrap up our short and pleasant visit to Garland Ranch before returning to our car.
Judging by how many people we encountered on the Sunday that we showed up in early February 2021, I’d imagine that this was quite the popular spot mainly due to its accessibility and the plethora of trail routes to choose from.
Overall, Julie and I spent a little under 2 hours away from the car on our first visit, and 90 minutes on our second visit.
However, both times, we made a very leisurely stroll so conceivably a more focused waterfall visit could take as little as around 60 minutes to cover the 2.6 miles round trip.
Authorities
Garland Ranch Falls resides in the Garland Ranch Regional Park in Carmel Valley in Monterey County, California. It is administered by the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District. For more information, questions, and current conditions, you can check out their website.
Related Trip Reports
Related Top 10 Lists
No Posts Found
Related Itineraries
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
This content is for subscribers only. See Membership Options.Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
This content is for subscribers only. See Membership Options.Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall
Nearest Waterfalls
