It’s already September on the calendar, and now I can say, August had a lot of adventures I crossed out from my California bucket list. The three Falls hike on McCloud river is one of them. I looked so many times on photo of this place and dreamed about it for a long time. If I suggested Arthur-McBurney Falls for so many people but never mentioned McCloud River. Not because I wanted to save it for myself 🙂 It just happened so 🙂


The first thing we mentioned when headed to the Shasta region is smog from the wild fires nearby. So dense the ranges could not be seen. So heavy I smell it. I was afraid that the condition stops us from hiking. But air near the river was clearer.
We planned to hike all three falls and stopped near the Lower Falls which are the popular swimming hole.

The most beautiful Middle Falls is also a place for cliff jumping, but the crowds were smaller there.

The trail goes uphill to the Middle Falls viewpoint. And from this place, all the smog and haze were easily noticeable.

You don’t get the lovely views on the Upper Falls, but the river is easily accessible upper from them so you could cool your legs n the clear water and have a break on one of the tables installed there.

The next day we returned back to the Interstate 5 via road 299 and stopped on one of the viewpoints. The smog was so dense You could see the layers of the ranges. Wildfires are devastating!