Cascading 150' from top to bottom after a rain storm, many consider Tenaja Falls the jewel of the Santa Ana Mountains, and a hidden gem in Southern California waterfalls. While the former may be an eccentric overstatement, the latter is certainly true. Requiring only a short and pleasant jaunt from the parking lot the the top of the falls, drive to the trailhead is the antithesis of both. Unless you have a 4X4 veichle, the drive is nerve rattling at best, and precipitous at worst. From Interstate 15 in Murrieta the distance is about 15 miles, but takes normally over 40 minutes for the average passenger car to complete it on account of a most unpleasant partially-paved, highly eroded, single lane road as the method of travel the final seven miles to the trailhead. Nonetheless in the winter and early spring season, when the weather is cool, the sky cloudy and fog-ridden, the stream flowing and healthy, and the falls moving in dramatic fashion, it is all worth the trouble as a fantastic trek for hikers of all ages and abilities.
Catagory: Easy
Miles: 1.7
Elevation Gain: 300'
Location: Cleaveland National Forest (Adventure Pass Required)
The Trail: From the small dirt trailhead (arrive early on weekends in the season), take the obvious trail down through some Coast Live Oaks into the San Mateo Creek watershed. Enjoy the shaded riparian woodlands and you cross San Mateo Creek, an impressive knee deep spectacle after a storm, which flows to trickle in the dead heat of summer. Keep on eye out for the recently returning Steelhead Trout, which were once common in this creek, but were thought to be forever gone only a few years ago. Efforts are being made to coax them back to their ancestral waters. After crossing the creek, the hike ascends most of its 300' of elevation gain as it circuits through some dense chaparral before giving way to a picturesque spot to view and hear the falls. Continuing along, you will find yourself atop one of Southern California's highest waterfalls. Unfortunately you cannot view these three-tiered fall from its base on this hike as with most waterfall trips, but being up looking down on the falls is certainly a suitable consolation. Return the way you came.
 |
| Trailhead |
 |
| Parking Lot |
 |
| Begining.. |
 |
| San Mateo Creek |
 |
| Going up... |
 |
| Baby Gopher Snake |
 |
| Looking down the falls... |
 |
| Another view |
 |
| San Mateo Creek on the way out |
Cascading 150' from top to bottom after a rain storm, many consider Tenaja Falls the jewel of the Santa Ana Mountains, and a hidden gem in Southern California waterfalls. While the former may be an eccentric overstatement, the latter is certainly true. Requiring only a short and pleasant jaunt from the parking lot the the top of the falls, drive to the trailhead is the antithesis of both. Unless you have a 4X4 veichle, the drive is nerve rattling at best, and precipitous at worst. From Interstate 15 in Murrieta the distance is about 15 miles, but takes normally over 40 minutes for the average passenger car to complete it on account of a most unpleasant partially-paved, highly eroded, single lane road as the method of travel the final seven miles to the trailhead. Nonetheless in the winter and early spring season, when the weather is cool, the sky cloudy and fog-ridden, the stream flowing and healthy, and the falls moving in dramatic fashion, it is all worth the trouble as a fantastic trek for hikers of all ages and abilities. 
The Trail: From the small dirt trailhead (arrive early on weekends in the season), take the obvious trail down through some Coast Live Oaks into the San Mateo Creek watershed. Enjoy the shaded riparian woodlands and you cross San Mateo Creek, an impressive knee deep spectacle after a storm, which flows to trickle in the dead heat of summer. Keep on eye out for the recently returning Steelhead Trout, which were once common in this creek, but were thought to be forever gone only a few years ago. Efforts are being made to coax them back to their ancestral waters. After crossing the creek, the hike ascends most of its 300' of elevation gain as it circuits through some dense chaparral before giving way to a picturesque spot to view and hear the falls. Continuing along, you will find yourself atop one of Southern California's highest waterfalls. Unfortunately you cannot view these three-tiered fall from its base on this hike as with most waterfall trips, but being up looking down on the falls is certainly a suitable consolation. Return the way you came. 
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