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Hike to Monrovia Canyon Falls just above the San Gabriel Valley community of Monrovia.

Tucked away obscurely in two shady canyons behind the San Gabriel Valley community of Monrovia is one of the most beautiful parks in the Los Angeles area: Monrovia Canyon Park. Adding spice to the rich profusion of the riparian vegetation in both canyons is 40-foot-high Monrovia Canyon Falls, which should run with frothy exuberance for the next few weeks -- or longer if we get more rainfall.

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To get to the park from San Diego, drive north on Interstates 5 and 605 to Interstate 210 west. Follow I-210 west for 2 miles and exit at Myrtle Avenue in Monrovia. Drive north on Myrtle for 1.9 miles to its end at Scenic Drive. Turn right and follow Scenic Drive on a meandering eastward course for three blocks, then keep straight as Canyon Boulevard joins from the right. Proceed uphill on Canyon Boulevard, which crookedly ascends alongside the Sawpit Canyon wash to the park entrance. A small day-use parking fee is levied here. The park is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except for Tuesdays. For the hike to the falls, drive an additional 0.5 mile to the road's end, where you'll find picnic tables and a nature center.

To reach the falls, simply start walking up Monrovia Canyon to the north on a trail that mostly sticks close to the canyon's sparkling-clear stream. Sometimes the trail gets narrow, eroded, and slippery enough to cause some difficulty with footing -- a cautionary note for those with small kids. Alder, oak, and bay laurel trees cluster in the canyon bottom so densely that hardly any sunlight is admitted, even at midday. The leaves of the bay laurel trees exude a certain pungent scent that we never get to experience in San Diego's canyons. After 0.8 mile the sound of splashing water heralds your arrival at the falls, where the Monrovia Canyon stream cascades down two distinct declivities on a water-worn cliff face.

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Tucked away obscurely in two shady canyons behind the San Gabriel Valley community of Monrovia is one of the most beautiful parks in the Los Angeles area: Monrovia Canyon Park. Adding spice to the rich profusion of the riparian vegetation in both canyons is 40-foot-high Monrovia Canyon Falls, which should run with frothy exuberance for the next few weeks -- or longer if we get more rainfall.

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To get to the park from San Diego, drive north on Interstates 5 and 605 to Interstate 210 west. Follow I-210 west for 2 miles and exit at Myrtle Avenue in Monrovia. Drive north on Myrtle for 1.9 miles to its end at Scenic Drive. Turn right and follow Scenic Drive on a meandering eastward course for three blocks, then keep straight as Canyon Boulevard joins from the right. Proceed uphill on Canyon Boulevard, which crookedly ascends alongside the Sawpit Canyon wash to the park entrance. A small day-use parking fee is levied here. The park is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except for Tuesdays. For the hike to the falls, drive an additional 0.5 mile to the road's end, where you'll find picnic tables and a nature center.

To reach the falls, simply start walking up Monrovia Canyon to the north on a trail that mostly sticks close to the canyon's sparkling-clear stream. Sometimes the trail gets narrow, eroded, and slippery enough to cause some difficulty with footing -- a cautionary note for those with small kids. Alder, oak, and bay laurel trees cluster in the canyon bottom so densely that hardly any sunlight is admitted, even at midday. The leaves of the bay laurel trees exude a certain pungent scent that we never get to experience in San Diego's canyons. After 0.8 mile the sound of splashing water heralds your arrival at the falls, where the Monrovia Canyon stream cascades down two distinct declivities on a water-worn cliff face.

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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
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