Cataract Falls — Attraction in Fairfax

During our visit in late November, the falls was thin but still beautiful. The hike is along the creek, and hence you always hear the sound of flowing water. The hike is mostly shaded, hence carrying a jacket is advisable. I would recommend to carry enough water too.

We did the roughly 3.5 mile round trip hike, which covered the falls and the Laurel Dell picnic area. We started out hike at around 2.30pm and we were back by 5.30pm. Since it was late November, it was dark by the time we finished it. If you want to do just the falls, I would say it would take around 2 hrs for the round trip. The entire hike has an elevation gain of 1000 ft. For beginners and small kids, it might be challenging but doable. My 7 year old kid was able to complete it.

The hike starts at the cataract trailhead on the Fairfax-Bolinas Road. It's easy to spot when you drive through the road as you will find lots of cars parked along the road. We were lucky to get a parking spot, but it is recommended to go early as there is limited parking space.

We started at around 2.30pm. The trail starts off along the watershed. Within 10 minutes, it starts to gain elevation, and it is mostly stairs. You will hit a series of small and medium sized falls within 0.5 to 1 mile of the trail. This is the most beautiful part of the trail. With curvy steps, tall redwood trees along the creek, its a beautiful sight. We continued to hike and reach the Laurel Dell picnic area after 2hrs, which is at about 1.5 mile point. We could have spent more time if we went early, but we plan to save it for spring when the falls is expected to be more dense. We had to hurry on our return as it was getting dark and reached the starting point at around 5.15pm.

Overall, it is a great hiking trail with beautiful scenery. I will definitely come back later during spring.

I would completely recommend it for someone looking for a scenic hike, any time...

One of the best post rain hikes in the Bay Area! We did our hike starting at Rock Spring Trailhead, which makes this an Out & Back, 7.5ish mile hike. Took us a total of 4 hours. we went on saturday 2/3/24, & I don’t know if we lucked out, but reviews kept talking about how busy the trail & “good luck with parking” but when we went it was pretty empty?!?? Mind you, we even got there late (12:30pm), so I was expecting to struggle to find parking, but I found one almost right away. (Not sure if going late is a perk at this trail?)

ALSO, at the Rock Spring trailhead parking lot, I didn’t see anything indicating we needed to pay?!? (No booths, or drop boxes, or anything) so looks like parking may have been free from there- unclear lololll

Anywho, hike was gorgeous! Never ending moss & waterfalls!! I would say the first half of the hike (like before you hit all the steps) is more like Easy to Moderate, & it’s the 2nd half (especially on the way back) that’s Moderate to Hard cus of how steep it is! I’m currently working on getting back into shape (so currently not in awesome shape) & I was heavy breathing the whole way back

Bathroom access was your typically porta potty/outhouse situations but we don’t mind those, we were happy there was even any :)

Btw, just a note! the end point of this trail (like before you have to turn back) is the Cataract Falls trailhead. So technically you could do this trail backwards. I would only recommend it if you wanna get straight to the good stuff right away!

Anywho, 10/10 def recommend! Follow me on insta if you wanna get more deets :)...

A nice hike, but the top is an anti climax of a few picnic tables and a field. Mostly you will find a well erned sense of accomplishment. Well signed and as maintained as we get in this time of reduced park budgets. The trail junctions are clearly marked. Expect to do nothing but climb. There are very few level spots, if any. The climb is 3.2 miles and 1,100 feet up. The signs do not mention altitude. The trail has sections of wooden steps, of a few types , and many with a railing that has seen better days. There are other stairs made of stones. Some of the dirt trails have stone and tree roots making them very irregular. This is not a trail for someone who cannot walk with dexterity. There are spectacular views of stream gullies and the waterfalls. The waterfalls are low flow with high drops. The forest cover seems to be mostly regrowth. There are some redwoods, but this is not a redwood area. Most of the trees are leaf type with some pines in there. It is very nice with a healthy forest floor with many ferns, sorrels and the other normal California plants. Few if any manzanita or madrone. Near the top you might find it to be "raining" as a side effect of trees catching the mist. There may be an orographic effect in play. Have a jacket able to handle the wet and cold. On the way up you will probably be packing that jacket because the climb is a serious workout. Coming down is also a lot of work given the irregular state of the steps and trails. I am mixed minded about it. Not sure that I would do it again. Depends the weather. Up and down is a good 6...