Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → San Diego Area → East County → Cottonwood Creek Falls

Location: Laguna Mountains, Cleveland National Forest, east of San Diego

Distance: 1.8 miles roundtrip

Elevation Ascent/Descent: 500 feet/500 feet

Time Required: ~1 hour

Red Tape/Notes: National Forest Adventure Pass required. This hike his covered in Jerry Schad’s book 101 Hikes in Southern California, but you can also find additional information online, like on the prolific resource AllTrails. Access to the trail is from the east side of the Sunrise Highway where two large parking areas are on either side of the road near mile marker 15. There are a couple of entrances to the trail, but the easiest one to find from the top is a footpath starting just past the northern edge of the eastern parking area. The trail follows a power line for most of the way.

What’s Nearby?: Kitchen Creek, Indian Creek-Pacific Coast Trail Loop, Garnet Peak, Oasis Spring, Horsethief Canyon

This short hike takes you down into a little hidden valley where Cottonwood Creek cascades down a series of short drops amongst nicely sculpted smooth and colorful rock. The trail initially looks like it only takes you to a stream, or possibly to a low angle rock slab with water running down it. But the more attractive sections of this creek are higher up, so you’ll need to continue scrambling upstream, making your away along the rocks at the edge of the creek, where you’ll be rewarded with additional cascades and pools of water. And while not as swimmable as nearby Horsethief Canyon, Cottonwood Creek would be a perfect spot for a picnic, with lots of smooth flat rocks at the waters edge, and there are plenty of pools deep enough to cool your feet or even slide down.

Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → San Diego Area → East County → Cottonwood Creek Falls