The Sweetest Hike

Scott Regberg
Mirror contributing writer

   I’ve always thought of the waterfall hike in the Santa Ynez as the sweetest little hike on the Westside. It’s such a simple hike that our Monday and Wednesday night hiking group doesn’t include it on our 21 hike repertoire. However, with two of our trail leaders absent, and a small group of newcomers, it was the perfect target for a beautiful 90-minute nature walk.
   Get there by driving up Palisades Highlands Drive and turn left at the first street (you’ll see signs for the Topanga State Park), and park in the cul de sac. The trailhead is through the gate on the right.
   Your first steps are down a wooden staircase with a huge drainage tunnel on the left and a cement culvert on the right. Just stay on the path, take the stepping stones across the mossy drainage channel and in a minute or two you’ll lose all sight of civilization.
   Normally, this trail zigzags across a running stream (fed by the waterfall) and I regret that in this dry period that you’ll miss out on the ambiance that natural running water creates. The water we used to jump across is now piles of exposed smooth rocks. Follow the path slightly up hill for about 15 minutes until you come to a signpost that directs you to either Trippet Ranch to the left, or right, to the waterfall.
   You’ll notice a striking change in flora as you work your up towards the falls. Scrub brush, sycamore and dense canopy give way to a more tropical reed section, and then, as if the ground itself was designing the scenery, the canyon narrows into a barren boulder section that feels more like Utah than Los Angeles. The boulder area continues to narrow into a 20-foot wide canyon with sheer walls and jutting rock overhangs. To avoid walking in water you rock hop from boulder to boulder.
   The canyon deadends into a small basin with nowhere to go but up to the left over one last 10 foot rock. In normal winters, water is flowing over this passageway but it’s barely trickling now. Getting over this smooth rock is daunting to many firstimers, its size and shape just awkward enough to turn many hikers back. My recommendation is to take advantage of one 3 by 6-inch outcropping about 6 feet up. Get your right foot or right knee onto it and you’ll be up and over. From there, it’s about 100 feet to the falls.
  I’ve seen the falls roaring and I’ve seen it barely dripping, which is about where it’s at right now. But don’t be discouraged, this is still a remarkably beautiful spot. There is just enough water to define where the falls should be, and to support an odd little colony of yellow-brown salamanders in the shallow pools.
   You’ll instinctively hang out at the falls basin for a little while before heading back. Get down that troublesome 10 foot boulder sitting down — use the hand holds to put your left butt onto the same outcropping you used to get up.
   If you over wondered whether or not you’d enjoy hiking, test yourself on this trail. It’s the 90-minute adventure that continues to convert couch potatoes into outdoorsman.
   Fearless readers interested in free Monday and Wednesday night hikes should call Scott Regberg at (310) 475-5735.