Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Sycamore Canyon Falls

Big Sycamore Canyon in coastal Ventura County’s Point Mugu State Park is famous for its miles-long promenade of magnificent California sycamore trees. Higher up and farther inland, hidden in that same drainage, you can find an intimate little waterfall. The falls merely whisper most of the time — but now, in the aftermath of recent rainfall, they resound resolutely.

To get to the trailhead, which lies on the edge of the Thousand Oaks neighborhood of Newbury Park, exit Highway 101 at Lynn Road and turn south. Drive 5.6 miles on Lynn Road to the Rancho Sierra Vista/ Satwiwa Park entrance on the left. Continue past a gate (open daylight hours) and arrive, after one-half mile, at a large trailhead parking area.

From the trailhead, head southeast on an unpaved service road to the paved Big Sycamore Canyon Trail, 0.2 mile away. Jog briefly right, then veer left on the Satwiwa Loop Trail, bypassing the Satwiwa Native American Culture Center and a Chumash Indian demonstration village. Following signs to the waterfall, aim southeast across a gorgeous meadow, more or less toward the toothy ridgeline called Boney Mountain. You pick up the Old Boney Trail (an old roadbed), which climbs to a small crest (1.0 mile) and then starts descending into the upper reaches of Big Sycamore Canyon. You’re now crossing from Rancho Sierra Vista Park into Point Mugu State Park.

Sponsored
Sponsored

At the bottom of the grade, Old Boney Trail swings across the Big Sycamore stream (1.5 miles) and then strikes uphill. That’s where you leave Old Boney Trail and turn left onto the narrow, rough Waterfall Trail. You work your way 0.2 mile upstream to the cascades, which lie in a north-facing grotto almost perpetually shaded from the direct rays of the sun. The falling and flowing water around you is framed by a wild and tangled assortment of oak and sycamore limbs overhead. Given that you’ve only spent perhaps 45 minutes walking in to this spot from the edge of the suburbs, the beauty, serenity, and splendid isolation of the place is a bit hard to believe. Don’t get too carried away — on a visit here a few months ago, we spotted two rattlesnakes, including one right below the falls.

This article contains information about a publicly owned recreation or wilderness area. Trails and pathways are not necessarily marked. Conditions can change rapidly. Hikers should be properly equipped and have safety and navigational skills. The Reader and Jerry Schad assume no responsibility for any adverse experience.

Sycamore Canyon Falls
Discover a melodious canyon waterfall just outside the city of Thousand Oaks.
Distance from downtown San Diego: 165 miles
Hiking/biking length: 3.4 miles round trip
Difficulty: Moderate

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

India Hawthorne is common in coastal gardens, Citrus trees are in full bloom

The vernal equinox is on March 19
Next Article

Looking back at race relations in Coronado

A former football player recalls the good and the bad

Big Sycamore Canyon in coastal Ventura County’s Point Mugu State Park is famous for its miles-long promenade of magnificent California sycamore trees. Higher up and farther inland, hidden in that same drainage, you can find an intimate little waterfall. The falls merely whisper most of the time — but now, in the aftermath of recent rainfall, they resound resolutely.

To get to the trailhead, which lies on the edge of the Thousand Oaks neighborhood of Newbury Park, exit Highway 101 at Lynn Road and turn south. Drive 5.6 miles on Lynn Road to the Rancho Sierra Vista/ Satwiwa Park entrance on the left. Continue past a gate (open daylight hours) and arrive, after one-half mile, at a large trailhead parking area.

From the trailhead, head southeast on an unpaved service road to the paved Big Sycamore Canyon Trail, 0.2 mile away. Jog briefly right, then veer left on the Satwiwa Loop Trail, bypassing the Satwiwa Native American Culture Center and a Chumash Indian demonstration village. Following signs to the waterfall, aim southeast across a gorgeous meadow, more or less toward the toothy ridgeline called Boney Mountain. You pick up the Old Boney Trail (an old roadbed), which climbs to a small crest (1.0 mile) and then starts descending into the upper reaches of Big Sycamore Canyon. You’re now crossing from Rancho Sierra Vista Park into Point Mugu State Park.

Sponsored
Sponsored

At the bottom of the grade, Old Boney Trail swings across the Big Sycamore stream (1.5 miles) and then strikes uphill. That’s where you leave Old Boney Trail and turn left onto the narrow, rough Waterfall Trail. You work your way 0.2 mile upstream to the cascades, which lie in a north-facing grotto almost perpetually shaded from the direct rays of the sun. The falling and flowing water around you is framed by a wild and tangled assortment of oak and sycamore limbs overhead. Given that you’ve only spent perhaps 45 minutes walking in to this spot from the edge of the suburbs, the beauty, serenity, and splendid isolation of the place is a bit hard to believe. Don’t get too carried away — on a visit here a few months ago, we spotted two rattlesnakes, including one right below the falls.

This article contains information about a publicly owned recreation or wilderness area. Trails and pathways are not necessarily marked. Conditions can change rapidly. Hikers should be properly equipped and have safety and navigational skills. The Reader and Jerry Schad assume no responsibility for any adverse experience.

Sycamore Canyon Falls
Discover a melodious canyon waterfall just outside the city of Thousand Oaks.
Distance from downtown San Diego: 165 miles
Hiking/biking length: 3.4 miles round trip
Difficulty: Moderate

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity
Next Article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.