North Table Mountain (Phantom Falls)
Oroville (Butte County) · near Oroville · Gold Country & Central Valley
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 3.8 miles
- Elevation gain
- 482 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Feb–Apr · Peak wildflower bloom mid-Mar–Apr; falls run only in spring; bone-dry and exposed in summer
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- CDFW Lands Pass required (16+, ~$5.66/day, free with a valid CA hunting/fishing license). No reservation. It's a trail-less basalt reserve with active cattle grazing — navigate by cairn and landmark.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 1 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Spring wildflower super-bloom · 164-ft Phantom Falls · Ravine & Hollow Falls · Basalt table mesa & vernal pools
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- Come on a weekday in late March; weekend lots fill by mid-morning. Download an offline map — there are no marked trails — and wear ankle boots for the uneven basalt. No water, no shade.
The guide
North Table Mountain is the crown jewel of Gold Country hiking — a flat-topped basalt mesa that erupts into one of California's…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to North Table Mountain (Phantom Falls) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 39.5959, -121.5364