The walk begins simply enough: a broad path leaving the picnic-area side and slipping into a valley enclosed by rock. Before long, the walls rise on both sides, turning a brief outing into a close look at a box canyon full of bluff faces, eroded formations and green growth.
This is a short waterfall walk, often completed in less than an hour, but it does not have the hurry-up-and-go quality of many roadside stops. Moss-covered rocks, thick vegetation and the changing shapes of the bluff walls keep giving you reasons to slow down.
The main route is wide, mostly smooth and relatively flat, making it a comfortable choice for a family walk, a dog walk or a quick break outdoors. The terrain changes considerably once you leave that central path, so the easy approach is worth treating as its own outing rather than assuming every nearby trail has the same footing.
A waterfall that follows the weather
At the end of the main walk, the waterfall viewing area has benches and a wood-plank sitting section. It is a pleasant place to settle in for a few minutes rather than just glance at the rock face and turn around.
Water is the variable here. After rain, the falls can be far more dramatic, with water streaming down the bluff walls as well as through the main cascade. During a dry spell, the same spot may offer only a trickle or a dry rock face.
That uncertainty is useful to know before making a special trip for the water alone. Even on a dry day, the setting still has its own appeal: tall stone walls, damp-looking moss, vegetation gathered along the valley and formations that make the canyon feel much larger than the length of the walk suggests.
Rock walls with room to wander
The rock is not just a backdrop to the waterfall. Large eroded formations appear along the route, including deep, amphitheater-like recesses in the bluffs. Standing near one of these insets can make a person feel pleasantly small.
There are occasional benches along the trail in addition to the seating at the falls, which helps make this an unhurried place. You can pause to inspect a mossy boulder, watch the water after a wet spell or simply take in the scale of the canyon walls.
Seasonal details add to the walk. Deer and squirrels may appear around the trails, and mushrooms and changing foliage can give the route a different character as the year moves along.
Good for children, with a few boundaries
For families, the broad main path offers the most straightforward version of the visit. Children have room to walk without immediately being committed to a long hike, and the waterfall stop gives the outing a clear destination.
Shallow creek areas and rocks can be especially tempting for young explorers when conditions allow. Those are also the places where the easy walk becomes more of a careful scramble, particularly after rain when mud, slick stone and moving water can change the footing.
The same distinction applies to pets. The main path works well for a casual dog walk, while the rockier and creek-side sections call for a closer read of the conditions.
Beyond the broad main path
Visitors who want more than the direct waterfall walk can continue into other trails in the surrounding park. Near the waterfall route, a less clearly marked path climbs closer to the bluff and broken-off rock formations before opening to views from above.
That elevated option is more rugged and is not a route to approach as if it were the same smooth stroll from the picnic area. Smaller trails can be easy to lose, and rockier or muddier stretches are more comfortable in good shoes.
A campground approach follows the cliffs and supplies nearly continuous rock scenery, but it is rougher than the broad picnic-area route. Another access area near the old park entrance connects through Boy Scout Trail, where creek-and-rock exploration and more rugged ground are part of the route.
A nearby cave trail and a few route choices
Hawk's Cave Trail is another nearby choice for short hikes among large recessed rock formations. It gives people who have finished the waterfall walk a reason to stay out a little longer without having to turn the day into an all-day trek.
The waterfall route can work as an out-and-back walk or as a short point-to-point outing, depending on the access route used. Big Rocky Hollow Trail and a road back toward the campsites can provide an alternative to retracing a steep climb in some route combinations.
Parking has been available without a fee, including street parking. The central path may look stroller-friendly in places because of its smoother surface, but the broader trail system includes enough uneven, rocky and muddy ground that stroller or wheelchair access should not be assumed across all approaches.