Trail Review: Lewis Falls
Parking: Free street parking on Rt. 39 next to trailhead
Distance: 1 mile out & back
The Lewis Falls trail starts at a blink-and-you'll-miss-it trailhead on a hairpin turn on Rt. 39 in the Angeles National Forest. The only evidence that a trail starts there was the cluster of cars parked along side the road. If there aren't any parking spots right at the turn in the road, there were some open spots just past the turn, but if you park there, be VERY careful of cars when crossing the road or walking on the shoulder because you have a very limited view of oncoming traffic in both directions.
The trail starts just to the right of the stream that meets at the bend in the road. It might not be the most obvious but it is a legit trail so when you find it, you'll know. Once you start, the first quarter of a mile or so it pretty straightforward and easy. Early on, you'll pass a cabin-like structure with a nice big sign pointing you toward the falls:
After that, you'll be sticking pretty close to the stream the whole time so you'll have a nice running water soundtrack to your hike. You'll need to duck under a fallen log or two but there's enough clearance where it should be possible to slip underneath. For the first 0.4 miles, that's probably the hardest thing you'll have to do. After that, things get more tricky.
You'll come upon the remnants of a cabin and a still-standing outhouse to your right and then it'll seem like the trail stops. This is where you'll need to start doing some scrambling. You should be able to tell based on foot traffic in the dirt, but the way to continue is to climb down a set of rocks and you may have to use some tree roots for support as it's a bit of a drop. This last tenth of a mile to the falls will require quite a bit of climbing and water crossings. The crossings are pretty wide, especially the one right before you reach the falls so you'll need to find sturdy rocks and logs in the water to hop along. It does require some agility.
I didn't even realize we had made it to the falls until we were right on top of it. But once we were there, we were lucky to have the entire area to ourselves which was great for getting photos and enjoying the view. You can get quite a few different angles on this 50 foot waterfall if you're willing to climb up a few more rocks.
The falls is the literal end of the trail. You physically can go no further due to the steepness of the canyon. So when you are done being awed by the beauty of nature, just go back the way you came, which may take slightly less time since you know which rocks and logs to jump to this time...
Bottom Line: It may be short, but this hike takes some time due to its difficult water crossings and rock scrambles. It's worth it in the end for the 50 foot waterfall!
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