Carlon Falls

Yosemite National Park / Stanislaus National Forest / Groveland, California, USA

About Carlon Falls

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Carlon Falls was a strangely-shaped waterfall that had that rare characteristic of flowing year-round.

That was quite a statement to make since most waterfalls within Yosemite National Park couldn’t make that claim.

Carlon_Falls_17_076_06172017 - Carlon Falls
Carlon Falls

As you can see in the picture above, it had modest height (say around 35ft or so) but it was wider than it was tall with a sloping shape that tapers off to the far side of the South Fork Tuolumne River.

In addition to its unusual shape, the potholed granite bench near its plunge pool created little pools and a calm section where the river wasn’t raging.

So it provided an opportunity for us to take a dip (or at least cool off our feet) and cool off from the heat of a hot Summer’s day.

That definitely came in handy when most of Yosemite’s other waterfalls wouldn’t be flowing late in the Summer and into the Fall.

Carlon_Falls_009_04232004 - Morning light when we first saw Carlon Falls back in April 2004
Morning light when we first saw Carlon Falls back in April 2004

As for timing for photos, the best lighting appears to happen in the early to mid afternoon as we were looking against the sun in the morning and the shadows would grow too long too late in the afternoon.

Hiking to Carlon Falls

A real quirky thing about the Carlon Falls hike was that its trailhead was situated outside the National Park boundary (in Stanislaus National Forest).

I suspect this strange attribute made this falls pretty unknown to most visitors to Yosemite National Park.

In fact, we only became aware of this hike while doing the drive to Hetch Hetchy one day and noticed a trailhead with a sign for “Carlon Day Use Area” along the way.

Carlon_Falls_17_009_06172017 - The Carlon Falls Trail approaching a trail maze marking the boundary between Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest
The Carlon Falls Trail approaching a trail maze marking the boundary between Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest

So far, we’ve done this hike twice – once in 2004 and another time in 2017.

And between these visits, there appeared to be quite a change in the experience as much of the terrain was affected by a fire that swept through the area in 2013.

So we had to deal with more deadfalls as well as a couple of pretty badly eroded sections that made this trail a little harder than it was on our first time around.

Overall, this hike was about 4 or 4.5 miles round trip with a net elevation gain of about 100ft.

Carlon_Falls_17_099_06172017 - Mom going around one of the eroded sections of the Carlon Falls Trail during our June 2017 visit
Mom going around one of the eroded sections of the Carlon Falls Trail during our June 2017 visit

Most of the hike was flat, but there was a steep 500ft stretch before the trail then undulated and reduced its net elevation gain at the end.

It took us as little as 2 hours on our first visit and as much as 3 hours on our second visit (likely because we spent time soaking and enjoying the scenery more on that second visit).

Carlon Falls Trail Description – the mostly flat stretch

From the signposted Carlon Falls Trailhead (see directions below), we followed a pretty obvious trail along the north bank of the South Fork of the Tuolumne River.

My Mom and I saw many people on the opposite side of the river playing in the calmer parts of the river as there was an Upper Carlon Day Use Area and campground over there.

Carlon_Falls_17_017_06172017 - The Carlon Falls Trail meandered through a burn area as evidenced by these black-barked trees that still provided pretty good shade
The Carlon Falls Trail meandered through a burn area as evidenced by these black-barked trees that still provided pretty good shade

If you happened to be starting from there, it’s best to backtrack to the Evergreen Road and then swing back around to the north side of the river, which was where the well-maintained trail to the falls was.

Anyways, there didn’t seem to be such “play” areas on our side of the river so it was pretty much all hiking.

Thus, we pretty much continued amongst the well-shaded forested trail as it proceeded through a trail maze marking our re-entry into Yosemite National Park wilderness barely 0.1 mile from the trailhead.

Beyond the maze, we saw even more evidence of fire damage from black-barked trees and deadfalls that we had to go over or around.

Carlon_Falls_17_108_06172017 - This looked like the foundation or remnants of some kind of structure that was once here along the Carlon Falls Trail
This looked like the foundation or remnants of some kind of structure that was once here along the Carlon Falls Trail

There were also some building remnants that the Carlon Falls Trail went right through.

Yet even with the fire damage, the trail remained serene and well-shaded as it would proceed this way for about the next mile or so.

The pace went pretty quickly because this stretch was flat and it followed along the South Fork Tuolumne River for almost the entire way.

With the scenery pretty much staying like this for this mile-long stretch, we also noticed little things.

Carlon_Falls_17_026_06172017 - Come kind of mysterious hole that we noticed along the Carlon Falls Trail during our June 2017 visit
Come kind of mysterious hole that we noticed along the Carlon Falls Trail during our June 2017 visit

For example, we noticed a hole in the ground by the trail at around 0.6 miles from the Yosemite boundary as well as one short stretch where the trail went up a steep eroded embankment before descending back down along the main trail again.

At the end of the long, flat forested stretch that dominated the majority of the Carlon Falls hike to this point, the trail then made a fairly steep and persistent climb of around 500ft or so.

During this climb, we were now able to look down at a bend in the South Fork Tuolumne River.

Then, the trail gingerly traversed a fairly badly eroded section as a slippery dirt slope was angled right into a few dead-felled trees.

Carlon_Falls_17_042_06172017 - After a long stretch of flat hiking, the Carlon Falls started to climb in earnest towards its latter part
After a long stretch of flat hiking, the Carlon Falls started to climb in earnest towards its latter part

There were a couple of trail forks in this section, and it was advised to keep left at the fork (which we did) instead of going straight down at the right and then try to scramble back up to the main trail again.

Carlon Falls Trail Description – trying to avoid false paths at the end

Beyond the steep climb and the eroded sections just above them, the rest of the Carlon Falls Trail was a bit narrower.

It involved trying to avoid false paths leading to our right towards the South Fork Tuolumne River.

Meanwhile, we had to climbing up and down undulating steep and rugged spots that we never recalled seeing before on our first experience in 2004.

Carlon_Falls_17_047_06172017 - Mom ducking under one of the fallen trees on the trail to Carlon Falls, which were among the new hazards that we encountered that we never had to deal with the first time we were here in April 2004
Mom ducking under one of the fallen trees on the trail to Carlon Falls, which were among the new hazards that we encountered that we never had to deal with the first time we were here in April 2004

Each of the “false paths” leading to the South Fork Tuolumne River actually resulted in spots where it was possible to play in the river.

Had we chosen to go on one of these paths, we still would have had to exercise caution due to the high runoff conditions we encountered in June 2017 as the river rushed with whitewater.

Trying to boulder scramble directly to the end of the trail from these false paths was too rugged and rough.

So after scouting out some of these false paths, we backtracked to regain the main trail before proceeding further to the Carlon Falls.

Carlon_Falls_17_087_06172017 - Mom dipping her sweaty feet in one of the potholes besides the plunge pool of Carlon Falls
Mom dipping her sweaty feet in one of the potholes besides the plunge pool of Carlon Falls

Thus, we kept left at each of the remaining false path forks for the remainder of the hike until we eventually made a final steep descent leading right down to the base of Carlon Falls.

Note that I didn’t recall having this steep descent the first time here in 2004, which kind of tells you how much things can change over the years.

It took us about an hour to get to this point, which was said to be around 2 to 2.25 miles.

So the inviting water was a welcome relief before making the return hike, which ended up taking us around 30 minutes on a quick pace without stops.

Authorities

Carlon Falls resides in Yosemite National Park, but its trailhead resides in Stanislaus National Forest near Groveland in Tuolumne County, California. It is administered by the USDA Forest Service and the National Park Service. For information or inquiries about the park as well as current conditions, visit the National Park Service website as well as the National Forest website or Facebook page.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: evergreen, stanislaus, yosemite, hetch hetchy, big oak flat, sierra, california, waterfall, tuolumne county, groveland



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Carlon Falls found! August 18, 2009 3:14 pm by Barry R - Carlon Falls was a great find because it was a hot Saturday. We needed a place to swim near our camp (5 miles outside the west gate), but didn't want to fight the crowds inside Yosemite National Park. We almost had the place to ourselves! ...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.
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