Plenty of poison oak on this trail so be careful. Remember “Leaves of Three, let it be.”
(leaves-of-three-let-it-be)
Although most of the trail is under shade, I recommend arriving early to avoid the heat and crowds. You will still see crowds even when arriving early (7am). Keep in mind that free shuttles stop running up to the trailhead at 11am. But don’t worry the shuttle will be there to pick you up from the hike. All hikers must return to the shuttles no later than 3pm.
Along the trail you will see many wildflowers and a few interpretive signs explaining the history of the canyon. Apparently the very first residents of Duarte lived in cabins in the canyon. Ruins of the cabins can be found along the trail. This is a fairly easy hike but you will experience about 900 foot elevation gain. Even at a leisurely pace the hike should only take you about 1 hour up and a little less than a hour back down. You will want to spend some time at the falls though because the falls are super awesome. For the most part the trail is uphill in and downhill out.
The three tiered waterfall is one of the most amazing that I have seen on my southern California waterfall hikes. Did you enjoy hiking at fish canyon falls?
To get there:
From The San Gabriel Valley:
Take the I-210 west exit at Irwindale Avenue.
Turn right (north) at Irwindale Avenue
Turn left (west) at Foothill Blvd.
Turn right (north) at Encanto Parkway.
Quarry is at the end of the road.
For access dates visit: http://azusarock.com/fishcreek/calendar.html