By Here is another waterfall hike. This time in Malibu in the Santa Monica Mountains. Waterfall hikes are popular. I recommend doing this very early in the morning.
A small parking lot is on Winding Way at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and Winding Way. This parking lot gets full quickly and there is a $12 fee. It’s normally full by 7:30 AM. If you find this lot full, street parking is available on PCH.
The trailhead is 0.75 miles from the parking lot but the hike begins from the parking lot on a dirt trail. You will be walking in the residential area so please follow the trail sign and stay out of the road as there are many blind spots. This section is totally exposed. Lucky for us, it was a cool overcast morning.
The sun was rising and it started to burn off the marine layer.
After this first downhill, the trail became partly shaded and cozy.
After 1.3 miles, you will come to a split, turn left here. Escondido Falls is only 0.5 miles from this point. Soon we heard a small creek running next to the trail so I knew we were close. We made a little detour to check out the creek. Click here for the video.
When we arrived at Escondido Falls, a group was just about to leave. We had the place to ourselves for good 10-15 minutes. We played fetch in the water without me worrying about bothering anyone.
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By mid-June, the water was just trickling. I heard that it was really flowing a couple of months ago. I would’ve loved to see that. Escondido Falls has been dry for many years. I hope we have a good rainy season again this winter. Even though it was a skinny waterfall, it was still oh so pretty with the vibrant colors. Click here for the video.
Even though there aren’t trail markers to guide you, you won’t get lost here as this is one of the popular hikes in Malibu. Most likely you won’t be alone on the trail.
Good to Know:
- Hike Date: 6.18.17
- Trailhead Coordinates: 34.031686, -118.772854
- Distance: 4 miles RT
- Elevation Gain: 425 feet
- Difficulty Level: Easy-Moderate
- Small parking lot (34.026099, -118.779986)
- Xena’s gear: Ruffwear Front Range Harness
Get Our Latest Comprehensive Dog-friendly Trail List Here. Enjoy!
Happy Hiking!
Hiking Girl with Dog 
Cute photos 🙂
You are so lucky to have waterfall hikes. We don’t have any here in Denmark (we do have a lot of lovely beaches though).
Bettina and her fluffy explorers / http://www.webreakaway.dk/
Thank you! We had a drought for several years. This was the first spring in many years the water was flowing again. It’s definitely nice to have the waterfalls back. Thank you for your comment.
This hike looks awesome! It’s so interesting how the water levels go through different seasons like that!
When you live in dry climate like L.A. you have to time to see waterfalls because they are not always flowing unlike PNW. I am hoping we can go back this winter and see it really flow. 🙂
I LOVE hiking to waterfalls!! 🙂
I hear waterfalls are everywhere in Oregon. Maybe that should be your state. 😊
That would be awesome!!! I think I’ve seen most of the ones in PA! Ha!
JoJo probably won’t get overheated easily there. Another plus! 😁