Chiquito Falls

Trail: Chiquito Trail to Chiquito Falls

Miles: 9.04

Type: Out and Back

My Time: 4 Hours

Elevation Gain: 1604 ft.

Difficulty: Moderate

Parking Permit: Yes, Adventure Pass

Location: Cleveland National Forest

Located off Ortega Highway in the Cleveland National Forest. The parking lot is located directly across from the Ortega Candy Store. Most people use this parking lot to hike Sitton Peak. But if you head the opposite direction, on the San Juan Loop, this will connect you to Chiquito Trail. Which is how you access Chiquito Falls. Don’t forget you’ll need an Adventure Pass or America, the Beautiful Pass in order to park here. The candy store across the street sells the day passes.

Now this hike does not include a ton of elevation gain, but is more on the lengthy side for some people. It is just over 9 miles as an out and back to the falls.

As you make your way on the San Juan Loop, note, it is sort of technical with a good amount of rocks on the trail. Not your standard flat dirt trail, you’ll have to pay attention to where you are stepping. If you’re lucky there will be water flowing off to the side after a good rain. Which is always nice to listen to and check out. (We did attempt this hike for our 2nd time and were blown away with the amount of water rushing down this area, which eventually led to the trail becoming impassable due to flooding. Disclaimer, don’t hike immediately after heavy rain and when it is still raining. Haha! So I am writing this blog about our 3rd time out.) This part of the trail is pretty cool because it is very dense with trees and bushes which gives you the feeling you are not in Southern California. Sort of more of a forest feel. It is definitely way more luscious after a crazy winter like we’ve been having this year with tons of rain. But even without all the rain it is still pretty as our first time here was a dry one.

As you continue on, eventually you will make it to Chiquito Trail. This trail is about a mile in on the San Juan Loop. Here you will be required to do a water crossing(maybe not if it’s summer or a dry winter). This water crossing doesn’t usually get very deep and is on sand. You don’t have to worry about cutting up your feet on unseen sharp rocks. We took our hiking boots and socks off to cross barefoot. Bring a small towel to dry your feet off before putting socks and boots back on. As you continue on the trail, you will notice there’s a ton of fungi on trees and plants. Some of the patterns of the fungi are pretty cool to stop and look at, but I wouldn’t recommend touching it!

From here is when you start gaining all your elevation. It is nicely spread out as you make your way up and around the hill. Once you’ve made it around the corner, where it is a little bit more open and exposed. You will then head back in for a little bit less than 1 mile. Notice how you start to lose elevation as you complete this final section. Once you’re nearing the waterfall, you will be able to hear it. Shortly there after you can see the falls off to the left side of the trail. Keep going a little bit further on the trail. The trail splits off to the left, allowing you to walk over on top of the falls, as well as you can climb down to the bottom. Down here I took my boots and socks off to put my feet in the water at the base of the waterfall. I also put my head underneath one of the section of the falls off to the side. This was less powerful than the main flow and was refreshing. I debated on going underneath the main flow, but that water looks like it might hurt for how much it was pumping out. This is the perfect place for a snack, cool down in the water and then head back.

We did this hike on a Sunday, only encountering 10 to 15 other hikers throughout our four hour adventure. This was the second time we have completed this hike. We had the same experience the first time with a small amount of other hikers. It was a dry winter when we had done it first, so there was no water in the waterfall. If you’re reading this when I post here in March 2023, I highly recommend you do this hike. It may not be the biggest or most extravagant waterfall. But it’s a rare waterfall in SoCal. I definitely loved having the fall to ourselves. Knowing it wasn’t super crowded like some of the other trails here in Southern California. IYKYK!

The trail is dog friendly, as long as they are on leash. I highly recommend you wear sun protection, and or bring sunscreen. Most of the hike up is exposed to sunlight. We drank about 2 1/2 liters of water so I suggest 2 to 3 liters depending on how thirsty you are. Every once in a while, we encountered a cluster of gnats, but no other bug issue. Overall I would recommend this hike to everybody. If you are a beginner, just note there is ~1600 feet of elevation gain, and about 9 miles of hiking. I definitely wouldn’t consider this a difficult hike, but would not want to be responsible for a newbie getting themselves into a predicament.

As always pack it in and pack it out.

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