A Homeschool Mom's Hiking Blog: Explorer Falls ~ June 30th 2011

This year it seems like there is almost always a chance of rain....today was no exception. We got sprinkled on while we hiked up to Explorer Falls. There is minimal space to park right outside the gate where you begin the trail, but I think you could park along the road if this area was full. There was no one parked here when we arrived at 11:30am. The sad thing is the amount of trash in the parking area, around the falls and the trail areas. Lots of bottles, cans and other assorted debris (including fire pits) from those that don't seem to care about keeping the area nice (I'm assuming that this is an area that people party on the weekends).

After parking, you walk around the gated area and follow the gravel road for about a mile. You will pass a couple of other gravel roads that cutoff, but just stick to the main road and keep going. You will hear the falls on your right hand side and will see a narrow path leading across a creek that will take you up to a view (and a path to the base) of the falls. This is a nice place to eat lunch. If you would like to explore further, you can head up a series of steep switchbacks that start along the creek you crossed after leaving the main gravel road. There is supposed to be a boy scout shelter up there somewhere, but we weren't able to locate it. We did find the trail that led to the top of the falls and a nice lookout. Do be careful here, as there is a large drop off. Lots of mud and water on the trails from the falls on up.