Nobe Young Falls
Western Divide Hwy / Sequoia NF · near California Hot Springs / Springville · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Canyoneering
At a glance
- Grade
- intermediate
- Best season
- Summer once flows drop; avoid high water & rain
What is here
- Setting
- granite
- Amenities
- Secret Sequoia-country waterfall · Sloping granite rappels & pools · Approachable & versatile · Quiet Western Divide setting
- Best for
- An approachable hidden-gem granite descent
- Features
- Hidden Sequoia-country gem · Versatile granite rappels · Quiet, scenic & approachable · The gentlest of the Sierra canyons here
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Flash-flood risk — check weather · Very slippery moss on polished granite · Flowing water at drops; cold pools · High water dangerous — low flow only
- Beginner friendly
- No
Canyoneering detail
- Character
- waterfalls · rappels · swims
- Water
- flowing
- Commitment
- 2
- Descent notes
- A secret granite waterfall off the Western Divide Highway — an approachable, versatile descent of sloping rappels and pools down mossy Sequoia-country granite, the most beginner-accessible of the Sierra canyons here and a genuine hidden gem
- Stats note
- ~4–6 sloping granite rappels; short approach; half-day; R1 (main falls, ~100 ft) often skipped in high/cold flow
- Wetsuit
- No
- Intl tip
- A secret granite waterfall near the Western Divide Highway in the Sequoia high country — long a hidden treasure of the Tule River district, and the most approachable of the Sierra canyons here. A short unofficial trail leads to the falls; the descent strings together sloping rappels and pools down beautiful mossy granite, versatile enough to add or skip drops (the ~100-ft main falls is often bypassed in high/cold flow). A lovely intermediate outing, quieter and far less committing than the Kern's classics. Descend at low flow in summer, treat moss-slick granite as a real hazard, and never enter with rain.
- Nickname
- The secret granite waterfall of the Sequoia high country
- Directions note
- Roadside pullout access off the Western Divide Hwy (190) — short scramble down
The guide
Nobe Young Falls, tumbling off the forested slopes near the Western Divide Highway in the Sequoia high country, was long known …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Nobe Young Falls — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.02, -118.56