Southern California Waterfalls (particularly those in or near the Greater Los Angeles area) may be one of the most surprising aspects about this part of the Golden State. As you can see from the waterfall map above, we have seen quite a few of these waterfalls in the Southland. Heck, Julie and I (as well as many members of our family) have been to so many waterfalls locally that we even compiled a Top 10 Best Southern California Waterfalls list highlighting our favorites.

Nevertheless, being Los Angeles residents for most of our lives, Julie and I are well aware that the city has many things going for it that do not involve waterfalls. However, it turns out that after realizing the benefits of chasing waterfalls, we now have a legitimate reason to really experience the Nature hidden in our own backyard! And through this Southern California Waterfalls page, we’re eager to share our experiences with you.

For the purposes of this page, we showcase the waterfall hikes and trails in Southern California using Los Angeles and Orange County as the center of the region (since the majority of people live here). We have a separate write-up focusing only on the waterfall hikes and trails just in Los Angeles County and Orange County alone. However, the Southern California Waterfalls page casts a wider net revealing all the waterfalls that we’ve personally experienced and provided write-ups for throughout the rest of the Greater Los Angeles area and its surroundings.

Therefore, in addition to the waterfalls of Los Angeles County and Orange County, this page also includes waterfalls in Santa Barbara County, San Diego County, Ventura County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County. Even though we cover a lot of real estate, we’ve found that we can visit most of these waterfalls reasonably within a day from Los Angeles (barring bad traffic, of course). In the worst case, the most far-flung waterfalls may require spending a night outside of L.A., especially if the waterfall trail involves a longer hike or scramble.

So have a look at what we’ve done so far, where we’ve shared in each of our waterfall write-ups directions, information, photographs, videos, and more. Hopefully, you can benefit from our experiences so that you, too, may be compelled to spread the love that is waterfalling in Southern California…