Grouse Falls

Tahoe National Forest / Foresthill / Auburn, California, USA

About Grouse Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Grouse Falls (or Grouse Creek Falls) was a waterfall that we were willing to drive a bit out of the way for.

It was one of the taller waterfalls in the state of California as it was said to fall over 500ft or so.

Grouse_Falls_038_05202016 - Grouse Falls
Grouse Falls

For such a big waterfall, it seemed like not many people make it out here given that we were the only people pursuing this waterfall during our first time coming here on a Friday in the middle of May in 2016.

Of course the truth was that we did encounter another couple here when we finished our hike so it’s not likely that we would have total isolation here.

Nevertheless, when it comes to the serenity of being far from crowds and civilization in beautiful scenery, this excursion certainly fit the bill for us.

Even that other couple we encountered implored us not to tell anyone else about this place and keep it a secret!

Grouse_Falls_042_05202016 - Full context of Grouse Falls as seen from the overlook
Full context of Grouse Falls as seen from the overlook

In any case, if this place wasn’t so out of the way, I’m sure it would have drawn a big crowd while also having a dedicated park in its name.

Even though Grouse Falls had impressive size, it did seem like its snowmelt-dependent flow suggested that it’s a waterfall you’d still have to time your visit for.

In other words, being here while the snow would be melting (typically Spring up to early Summer) would be the season to get the maximum effect of seeing this falls make its dramatic cliff tumble.

Any later in the summer and the water may blend in too much with the cliffs for much of a visual effect.

Hiking to the Grouse Falls Overlook

Grouse_Falls_011_05202016 - Mom descending amongst a grove of tall trees as we made our way downhill to the Grouse Falls Overlook
Mom descending amongst a grove of tall trees as we made our way downhill to the Grouse Falls Overlook

We began from a pretty remote trailhead (see directions below), which was well-signed.

We took the lone trail from this trailhead, which promptly descended between a series of tall pine trees and fir trees as well as the odd sequoia tree.

The moderately downhill hike would persist for the next half-mile, which also meant that we’d have to get back this elevation loss on the return.

Nevertheless, my mother and I arrived at the wooden overlook platform after roughly 15 minutes away from the car.

Grouse_Falls_024_05202016 - Mom standing atop the overlook deck for Grouse Falls
Mom standing atop the overlook deck for Grouse Falls

The platform was in an open part of the forest where we we were able to get a distant view of Grouse Falls.

Moreover, we were also able to get partial looks at the deep canyons further downstream along the North Fork of the Middle Fork American River where Grouse Creek would feed into.

Given how distant the view was to Grouse Falls, we were left wanting more from the experience, but the terrain seemed steep and off-train scrambling didn’t seem like a wise thing to do.

So we were content with our view while trying to savor every minute of our time here before heading back uphill.

Grouse_Falls_082_05202016 - Mom hiking back uphill from the Grouse Falls Overlook to the trailhead after having had our fill of the waterfall
Mom hiking back uphill from the Grouse Falls Overlook to the trailhead after having had our fill of the waterfall

Anyways, we managed to finish our hike about 20-25 minutes after starting our return hike (or around 45 minutes away from the car).

The Threat of Snow

Since our visit happened to be during a day when it was threatening to rain or even snow, we couldn’t be lingering out here for too long.

In fact, on our hike back, we kept getting hail.

Since the trail was said to start at over 5,000ft, I’m sure snow can be a problem, especially given the remoteness of this place.

Grouse_Falls_078_05202016 - Looking down at small hail stones during our uphill hike from the Grouse Falls overlook to the trailhead
Looking down at small hail stones during our uphill hike from the Grouse Falls overlook to the trailhead

It turned out that we were lucky during our visit that the snow hadn’t really hit this area.

However, just a couple of hours later, it did hit the I-80 on the way to Truckee and Reno not far north of here.

It’s definitely one thing to keep in mind since getting stuck in the snow or the potential of losing traction on the winding and narrow roads could make for a dangerous situation.

Visiting the northernmost grove of Sequoia Trees in California

One thing we wished we could have done to complement this excursion was to visit the Placer County Grove of Sierra Redwoods.

I-80_to_Devils_Falls_008_mom_05202016 - Snow causing a lot of traffic on the I-80 just a couple hours after we had visited Grouse Falls so there was a chance that we could have been stuck in that remote forest had we lingered there longer
Snow causing a lot of traffic on the I-80 just a couple hours after we had visited Grouse Falls so there was a chance that we could have been stuck in that remote forest had we lingered there longer

This was said to be the northernmost grove of Sequoia trees in California.

The US Forest Service site wasn’t very helpful when I chanced upon it on their website concerning its directions.

Moreover, the couple we spoke to at the end of our hike mentioned this place as well.

But we couldn’t find it on our maps (admittedly, we weren’t that prepared in our trip planning for this extra excursion), and we couldn’t chance trying to aimlessly drive to find this place given the incoming bad weather.

Grouse_Falls_096_05202016 - The Placer County Grove of Sierra Redwoods was further east along the remote Mosquito Ridge Road, which was the same road that led us on the spur to Grouse Falls
The Placer County Grove of Sierra Redwoods was further east along the remote Mosquito Ridge Road, which was the same road that led us on the spur to Grouse Falls

So we’ll have to make the time to do it next time…

Authorities

Grouse Falls resides in the Tahoe National Forest near Foresthill in Placer 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.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual members. See Membership Options.
Content is for members. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: tahoe national forest, foresthill, auburn, placer county, sacramento, northern california, california, waterfall, mosquito ridge, peavine road



Visitor Comments:

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About how to get to the Sequoias (from Grouse Falls) August 22, 2016 1:39 pm by Barry - The stand of Sequoia trees you referred to is not far away indeed. When returning to the paved road (Mesquito Ridge Rd) just turn left. It will take you toward French Meadow Lake and the park with the Sequoias will be on your right about 15 minutes or so up the road. I believe it's… ...Read More

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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.