Los Penasquitos Falls

San Diego / Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve, California, USA

About Los Penasquitos Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Los Penasquitos Falls (or more accurately Los Peñasquitos Falls as well as Peñasquitos Creek Falls) is what I would characterize as a suburban waterfall because it sits in a pocket of reserve along Peñasquitos Creek surrounded by suburban housing.

In fact, this is one of the more popular and accessible waterfalls in San Diego County despite the waterfall’s fickle flow and modest size.

Penasquitos_Falls_104_03252023 - Los Penasquitos Falls or Los Peñasquitos Falls
Los Penasquitos Falls or Los Peñasquitos Falls

That said, for reasons I’ll get into shortly, it took us many years before we finally got to visit this place.

This was despite the fact that the falls had a write-up in our Ann Marie Brown California Waterfalls book (our source for many years before social media and phone apps were a thing).

According to the City of San Diego, los peñasquitos means “the little cliffs” though I’ve also seen the feminine form of the word las peñasquitas translated as “the little rocks”.

Whatever the case, both descriptions seem to properly suit this waterfall and its bouldery surroundings.

Penasquitos_Falls_009_iPhone_03252023 - The boulders surrounding and giving rise to Los Peñasquitos Falls are the real scenic draws of this reserve
The boulders surrounding and giving rise to Los Peñasquitos Falls are the real scenic draws of this reserve

Indeed, I’d argue that it’s really the boulders that was the waterfall’s main appeal, especially when the late afternoon sun gives such boulders a reddish-orange glow.

Anyways, I’m guessing that the falls’ cascade series has a cumulative drop of around 30ft or so over a long run of a handful of short 5ft drops.

For many years, we waited patiently for the right time to make a visit because we knew how arid this part of Southern California can be.

Moreover, it was a bit out of the way for us on a typical weekend visit (see directions below), which further conspired to keep us from coming until the circumstances were right.

Penasquitos_Falls_067_03252023 - In addition to getting views of Los Peñasquitos Falls, you an also scramble around the boulders even when the falls is dry (which I'd imagine would typically be the case)
In addition to getting views of Los Peñasquitos Falls, you an also scramble around the boulders even when the falls is dry (which I’d imagine would typically be the case)

Well, that time came in late March 2023 when Southern California experienced a series of (historic) atmospheric river storms that made Los Penasquitos Falls (as well as other typically short-lived waterfalls) come alive and sustain its flow.

Different Ways to Hike to Los Penasquitos Falls

It turns out that there are many choices as far as hiking to Los Penasquitos Falls.

The first and shortest option would be to do an out-and-back hike along the Powerline Trail from an obscure dead-end in a residential neighborhood.

This was the way we did the hike on our March 2023 visit.

Penasquitos_Falls_074_03252023 - Noticing rock steps on the other side of Los Peñasquitos Creek above the uppermost of the cascades. Could there have been a footbridge there?
Noticing rock steps on the other side of Los Peñasquitos Creek above the uppermost of the cascades. Could there have been a footbridge there?

Ordinarily this hike should be a 2.6-mile loop hike (according to AllTrails, at least), but the bridges were washed out during our visit, and it became a roughly 2.4-mile out-and-back hike.

Another option would be to do a longer canyon loop hike or a one-way shuttle hike (each having trail lengths exceeding 6 miles).

This latter option was what was described in our Ann Marie Brown book (another one of the reasons why we hesitated to do this hike unless we thought it was worth the trouble).

I’d imagine that the longer option could be attractive for those wanting to do a more legitimate hike while also getting more immersed in the environment, which includes the odd rare wildlife sighting.

Penasquitos_Falls_025_03252023 - Los Peñasquitos Falls sits in a preserve surrounded by suburban housing developments so there are many ways and a variety of trails to experience this place
Los Peñasquitos Falls sits in a preserve surrounded by suburban housing developments so there are many ways and a variety of trails to experience this place

There are also other accesses to the reserve (e.g. the Park Village Recreation Park), which allows for additional ways to do this hike (where the hiking distance lies somewhere in between the aforementioned options).

Anyways, for the trail description below, the first option is what I’ll describe in depth since that’s how we did it.

Maybe when I get a chance to come back to pursue the longer options, then I’ll augment this write-up with a description of how those went.

Trail Description – The Powerline Trail Approach

Starting from a dead-end road in a residential neighborhood, we descended an unpaved road behind a gate and connected with the so-called Powerline Trail.

Penasquitos_Falls_022_03252023 - The shortest approach that we took to Los Peñasquitos was via the aptly-named Powerline Trail
The shortest approach that we took to Los Peñasquitos was via the aptly-named Powerline Trail

We then followed this aptly-named trail as it pretty much went beneath the namesake power lines held up by tall power pylons (which I suspect deliver electricity to the suburban homes surrounding this area).

After about a half-mile, the trail’s gentle descent bottoms out at a longer well-used and open-field trail running along the north side of Los Peñasquitos Creek.

We went right at the trail junction to keep going in a downstream direction (though the stream isn’t visible from here yet), and we continued along this wide open path for about 0.6 mile.

Eventually, we reached some trail signage indicating that the waterfall was to our left, and after a short jaunt, we reached a bouldery rocky field adjacent to the uppermost of Los Penasquitos Falls.

Penasquitos_Falls_058_03252023 - At first, we couldn't get a good view of Los Peñasquitos Falls as the cascade twists and turns amongst the many boulders
At first, we couldn’t get a good view of Los Peñasquitos Falls as the cascade twists and turns amongst the many boulders

While you can get close to sections of the cascades on Los Peñasquitos Creek via some mild boulder scrambling, I’ve found that you don’t really get a good view and appreciation of the falls from this close up.

I suspect that this is really more for creek access or for just bouldering in general.

That said, I’ve noticed that the water on the creek tended to be brown and murky, which I suspect would be a combination of peat from the wetlands along the creek combined with suburban runoff from the neighboring communities.

The suburban runoff aspect would make me hesitate to spend too much time in the water.

Penasquitos_Falls_071_03252023 - Los Peñasquitos Creek was running high during our visit though the water appeared quite murky and brown, which I suspect might be from a combination of peat and suburban runoff
Los Peñasquitos Creek was running high during our visit though the water appeared quite murky and brown, which I suspect might be from a combination of peat and suburban runoff

Speaking of the water, during our March 2023 visit, the creek ran unusually high, which was the result of the cumulative effects of repeated atmospheric river storms.

Such rainfall quantities resulted in an apparent missing bridge above the waterfalls as evidenced by rock steps on the other side of the creek with no way to get to it except to wade across the fast-moving creek.

I believe that had a bridge remained above the falls, then we could have connected with the South Main Trail (and potentially different perspectives of the falls), which would allow us to turn this out-and-back walk into a short loop hike.

Nevertheless, we were able to get a pretty full experience with this waterfall on the north side of the creek (i.e. without needing to cross the fast flowing water) by continuing along the sanctioned trails further downstream.

Penasquitos_Falls_099_03252023 - This overlook of Los Peñasquitos Falls was the turnaround point of our short out-and-back hike (though under more normal circumstances, we could have done this hike as a loop)
This overlook of Los Peñasquitos Falls was the turnaround point of our short out-and-back hike (though under more normal circumstances, we could have done this hike as a loop)

In addition to more informal accesses to the plunge pool at the bottom of the main section of the falls, the main trail provided access to an overlook with a bench providing a nice contextual view of the falls as well as the surrounding rocks.

This was by far the best way to experience the Los Penasquitos Falls (in my opinion), and this was our turnaround point of the hike.

Overall, our out-and-back hike was on the order of 2.5 miles (according to my logs), and it took us less than 2 hours to experience.

Authorities

Los Penasquitos Falls (or Los Peñasquitos Falls) resides in the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Reserve bordered by Rancho Peñasquitos, Sorrento Hills, and Mira Mesa in San Diego County. It is jointly administered by the City of San Diego as well as the County of San Diego. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: san diego county, los penasquitos canyon, rancho penasquitos, mira mesa, del mar mesa, penasquitos creek, sorrento valley



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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.