Tangerine Falls (Cold Spring)
Montecito · near Montecito / Santa Barbara · Central Coast
Canyoneering
At a glance
- Grade
- intermediate
- Best season
- Spring with flow; avoid after rain; beware loose rock
What is here
- Setting
- foothill
- Amenities
- Tall dramatic waterfall · Technical falls rappel · Striking front-range setting · Spring flow spectacle
- Best for
- A dramatic waterfall rappel (skilled only)
- Features
- Tall Cold Spring waterfall · Dramatic technical descent · Spring flow spectacle · For experienced parties
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Very loose, crumbly rock — rockfall danger · Periodic closures from Thomas Fire / Montecito debris-flow damage — verify status · Dangerous when wet; strenuous boulder scramble to the base · Flash-flood risk — never enter with rain
- Beginner friendly
- No
Canyoneering detail
- Character
- waterfalls · rappels
- Water
- pools
- Commitment
- 2
- Descent notes
- A tall, dramatic 100-ft waterfall in Cold Spring Canyon above Montecito — most reach it by a strenuous creek-crossing boulder scramble; a rappel descent is possible but the loose, crumbly rock makes it hazardous, and the area periodically closes after fire and debris flows
- Stats note
- ~2–3 rappels incl. a tall falls; steep, loose approach; half-day
- Wetsuit
- No
- Intl tip
- One of the most dramatic waterfalls in the Santa Barbara front range, at the head of Cold Spring Canyon above Montecito — a tall (100-ft) spring cascade usually reached by a strenuous creek-crossing boulder scramble; a rappel descent is possible but hazardous on the loose rock. The defining hazard is loose, crumbly rock (real rockfall danger), and the popular unroped scrambling to the base has caused injuries — not a place for the untrained. Inspect/back up anchors, mind slippery moss, and never enter with rain (flash-flood risk). Best in spring when it flows, but the area periodically closes after fire and debris flows — verify status. Skilled parties only for any rappel.
- Directions note
- Street parking at the Cold Spring trailhead on E Mountain Dr
The guide
Tangerine Falls, at the head of Cold Spring Canyon above Montecito, is one of the most dramatic waterfalls in the Santa Barbara…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Tangerine Falls (Cold Spring) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.49, -119.655