Salmon Creek Falls
near Kernville / Sequoia NF · near Kernville · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Canyoneering
At a glance
- Grade
- advanced
- Best season
- Spring–early summer for flow; class C in high-water years
What is here
- Setting
- granite
- Amenities
- Big granite waterfalls · Tall rappels (up to ~180 ft) · Upper & Lower sections · Committing Kern-country descent
- Best for
- Tall granite waterfall rappels
- Features
- Big Kern-country waterfalls · Very tall rappels · Clean granite descent · Upper + Lower combinable
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Flowing water at drops; class C in big-flow years · Flow less stable than nearby Teacups — hard to catch well · Committing tall rappels; anchor management · Cold water; remote — self-rescue
- Beginner friendly
- No
Canyoneering detail
- Character
- waterfalls · rappels · swims
- Water
- flowing
- Commitment
- 3
- Descent notes
- Big granite waterfalls near the Kern descended by tall rappels — an Upper and Lower section (combinable) with a huge first rappel up to ~180 ft in the Upper, striking and committing for experienced canyoneers
- Stats note
- ~5 rappels; Upper R1 up to ~180 ft; can combine Upper + Lower; half–full day
- Wetsuit
- Yes
- Intl tip
- A striking, committing waterfall descent near the Kern (Sequoia NF) — big drops down clean granite in an Upper and Lower section (combinable), the Upper opening with a huge ~180-ft first rappel, about five rappels total with real flowing water, taking on serious Class C character in big-flow years. Its flow is less stable than the nearby Seven Teacups, so it's hard to catch at good conditions — scout first. Cold water (wetsuit), remote (self-rescue), skilled parties only. Never at high flow or with rain in the watershed.
- Directions note
- Kern Plateau falls — access off Sherman Pass Rd / Horse Meadow area (not the Big Sur falls of the same name)
The guide
Salmon Creek Falls, in the granite country near the Kern River not far from Kernville, is a striking, committing waterfall desc…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Salmon Creek Falls — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 35.9, -118.46