Ortega Falls

Cleveland National Forest / Lake Elsinore, California, USA

About Ortega Falls

For Subscribers Only. See Membership Options.

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Ortega Falls is said to be a 35ft waterfall though in addition to its main drop near its top, it also contains a series of cascades further downstream.

Exposed rock formations surrounding this waterfall certainly provided an attractive backdrop.

Ortega_Falls_084_03172019 - Ortega Falls in healthy flow with lots of visitors on a warm St Patrick's Day in 2019
Ortega Falls in healthy flow with lots of visitors on a warm St Patrick’s Day in 2019

While we tend to think of this part of the Southland as hot and dry, we’ve seen this place increase in popularity over the years (especially when it flows).

When we first visited Ortega Falls, it seemed like most people zoomed along the Ortega Highway (Hwy 74) without even knowing this waterfall existed!

In fact, Ortega Falls managed to elude us back in our earlier days of waterfalling.

The breakthrough came when Julie figured out from the guidebook description that we had to pay attention to a couple of key landmarks (see directions below).

Ortega_Falls_010_04032010 - Ortega Falls when it wasn't so busy when we saw it back in April 2010
Ortega Falls when it wasn’t so busy when we saw it back in April 2010

However, in recent years, zooming past the waterfall was no longer the case as the visitor numbers seemingly started approaching Eaton Canyon Falls-type levels.

In fact, we started to notice the presence of graffiti as well as litter, and it’s getting worse every time we visit (especially since the COVID-19 pandemic).

Not only has the tagging gotten worse around the main drop of Ortega Falls itself, but we’ve also started noticing tagging going on along the scrambling paths as well.

I’m not sure what can be done about bringing the ghetto into Nature, but this place is starting to resemble a more trashed version of the Hosier Lane in Melbourne, Australia.

Ortega_Falls_032_02132023 - The litter and graffiti problem at Ortega Falls has dramatically accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic though this waterfall isn't the only one suffering this fate
The litter and graffiti problem at Ortega Falls has dramatically accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic though this waterfall isn’t the only one suffering this fate

If anything, they probably decided that it takes too many resources to enforce behavior and clean up the mess, and the only real way to make things sustainable would be to charge visitors for their use as well as the inevitable clean-up and maintenance.

Nevertheless, I guess that’s the price of convenience since we only needed to go on a short quarter-mile scramble from the highway to reach it.

Accessing Ortega Falls

From the start of the scramble, we can actually see part of Ortega Falls if it has a healthy flow.

That provided us an indication as to whether it was worth pursuing this waterfall as well as acting as a guide to steer us closer to it as well.

Ortega_Falls_014_03172019 - Tahia and Julie approaching one of the eroded sections that we had to navigate through on the way to Ortega Falls
Tahia and Julie approaching one of the eroded sections that we had to navigate through on the way to Ortega Falls

Without such a visual clue, we could have followed one of several use paths descending steeply into the bush (quite possibly missing out on the correct path).

Anyways, we generally favored the trails that were to the right of the Forest Service sign (when it was there), because that was the direction of the main waterfall.

The use-trails to the left of the sign led us to less remarkable cascades well downstream of the main drops of Ortega Falls.

As the years have gone by, the use trails seemed to have been more eroded and undulating, especially with the increased amount of foot traffic.

Ortega_Falls_016_03172019 - Looking down at one of the lower cascades beneath the main Ortega Falls in healthy flow
Looking down at one of the lower cascades beneath the main Ortega Falls in healthy flow

However, by and large we didn’t have too much difficulty navigating through the trail despite the obstacles.

Given the high amount of human traffic as well as water gullies eroding further into the trail, we also noticed that the use trails seemed to have gotten wider so overgrowth was becoming less of a problem.

I guess that’s the trade off being the erosion from overuse versus the poison oak exposure from infrequent use.

As the sound of the water got louder, we started noticing more use trails leading steeply to the lower cascades of Ortega Falls.

Ortega_Falls_050_03172019 - Right at the main drop of Ortega Falls
Right at the main drop of Ortega Falls

Continuing on the more level footpaths, we’d eventually reach the jumble of rocks and the familiar tree fronting the main drop of Ortega Falls.

This made the scramble more-or-less about a quarter-mile, and it probably took us around 15 minutes or less to do it in each direction.

Authorities

Ortega Falls resides in the Cleveland National Forest near Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, California. Is it administered by the USDA Forest Service. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website or Facebook page.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: cleveland national forest, lake elsinore, ortega, highway, orange county, southern california, california, waterfall, riverside, irvine, laguna, mission viejo



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


Share your thoughts about what you've read on this page

You must be logged in to submit content. Refresh this page after you have logged in.

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...

I really liked these falls! (Ortega Falls) May 17, 2010 5:19 pm by Brooke - I'm 15 years old and I went to these falls with my best friend and my 4 younger siblings and my dad. It was a ton of fun! Be warned, the hike we took to get there was crazy! My little brother was terrified he was going to die. We finally got to what we… ...Read More

Have you been to a waterfall? Submit a write-up/review and share your experiences or impressions

Review A Waterfall

Nearest Waterfalls



How To Build A Profitable Travel Blog In 4 Steps

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.