Millard Falls Trailhead — Attraction in Altadena

Class 1 hike to Millard Canyon waterfall. Roughly a mile or less to falls. Flat hiking with some rocks and seasonally (winter and early spring) a running creek.

Best time to visit: late winter-early spring when rains will create enough water flow for the falls to look spectacular. For maximum effect come a day or two after a major rain storm (but wear waterproof hiking shoes/boots).

*Rock climbers will be interested by the bolted climbing route about 20-40ft just before the waterfall on the steep left (west) wall of the canyon. Look for a clean, water-smoothed section of the slightly overhanging cliff face with small bulges. About 8-10 feet up you will see the first bolt. The climb wends its way up the steep face past bulges and another 4-5 bolts. (I didn’t spot a 2 bolt anchor at the top, but I suspect one is up there.) I’ve never attempted the route, but it looks difficult. Given the steepness and difficulty spotting holds — plus its location that makes establishing such a route very difficult — I’d say this route is at least 5.11 in difficulty if not 5.12 or possibly harder. I bouldered around the bottom in my trail runners — but couldn’t find an obvious start so just getting off the ground is a challenge. The line looks quite nice, but unless you’re a strong 5.11-5.12 climber I wouldn’t bother hiking in with rope and gear. If you’re super curious bring a buddy, some shoes and maybe a small pad and try bouldering out the starting moves to see if it’s something you think might be doable. *I don’t know the age or condition of the bolts but they appeared to be standard 3/8” with stainless steel hangers with no corrosion or deformities — so when originally spotted in 2010 they seemed relatively new (2-8 years old).

**If the short hike to the falls leaves you wanting more — you can drive back up from the campground parking to the Mt Lowe Fire Road gate and either hike the fire road — or the Millard Canyon trail. Fire road is a paved easy class 2 and Millard Canyon trail is a class 3 with a fair amount of creek crossing and boulder-hopping and 1-2 very short sections of class 4. A great loop to do is hike Millard Canyon past Dawn Mine and beyond to the start of the Dawn Mine Trail which ascends the east wall of the canyon up to the Mt Lowe Fire Rd. Descend the fire road to the gate and parking area where you started. (Millard Canyon/Dawn Mine is a moderate hike but due to the terrain requires some hiking experience. Dawn Mine trail is steeper, but a more straightforward single track trail. Since Millard Canyon trail is in a deep canyon with a canopy of trees it will get extremely dark at sunset and the rocky, meandering trail becomes very difficult even with headlamps.)

—CURRENTLY BOTH HIKES ARE CLOSED due to the Eaton Fire closure of the Angeles...

Had to rate this trail because I’ve been wanting to try it out for awhile to see the waterfall! The trail wasn’t what I expected - but the other reviewers were correct. There’s a lot of rocks! So make sure to wear good shoes. And you have to cross over the stream a few times to stay on the “path” and your shoes may get wet and muddy. Bring your water shoes and a swimsuit if you want to take a dip in the water or under the waterfall! I didn’t bring anything like that but I saw a few groups taking advantage of cooling off in the water and it looks fun. The trail is mostly shaded and the waterfall at the end is a nice perk! There were several families and kids on the trail, so I guess it’s kid friendly. In fact some of the little kids were doing better than I was at navigating the trail. I rated the trail moderate just because it takes some skills to navigate around the rocks and stepping up to high rocks in order to stay on the path. Worth it and a good mild workout! I think it was less than 0.7 mile from the trailhead to the waterfall. There is a campsite near the trailhead which kind of felt out of place. I wouldn’t want to camp right next to such a busy trailhead entrance and next to restrooms but there were several tents set up and...

One of my favorite river locations. Only downside is, it’s a VERY short hike, but plenty of photo-ops, absolutely beautiful, literally the perfect trail for anyone. There is 1 particular obstacle that may get in the way of anyone elderly, so I put this on the 2/5 of difficulty scale exclusively based on that. But absolutely perfect for family outings. It’s about 30mins, and perfect for anyone just getting into hiking & rivers. Parking can be the only main issue here as it’s either at the very bottom of the trail which can be packed, or at the top and you just walk down. We happen to get lucky and found some parking. Overall a great little hike. You’ll see some snakes too if you’re lucky! Be safe...