Less than 20 miles from my house is one of the most amazing landscapes I’ve ever visited: Butte County’s Table Mountain. You can read about it in Wikipedia, but what you really need to know is that Table Mountain is a high plateau that is covered with wildflowers and studded with numerous seasonal waterfalls.

Quincy and I decided to head out after a recent series of rainstorms to ensure that we would get to see these waterfalls in all of their Spring glory. And we were not disappointed.

Quincy! The big Oak by the parking area. One of dozens of seasonal streams that adorn Table Mountain.

First, I want to thank Chico Hiking Association for providing the basic hike and map information I need get started. As always, once I had a basic idea of where I wanted to hike I created my own custom map using CalTopo. If you haven’t used CalTopo I definitely recommend that you head over there and get started creating your own maps today.

After a brief hike of barely a mile we were presented with the first big waterfall of the day: Ravine Falls and Twin Ravine Falls. Twin Ravine Falls is visible from the top, and Ravine Falls is visible from the bottom. Since this was my first visit here I need to go back again to see what other vantage points are available.

Twin Ravine Falls as seen from above. Ravine Falls as seen from below

Ravine Falls is a 76 foot drop that falls into a very narrow, steep-walled canyon. The setting under the falls is hard to describe and even harder to photograph. The best I can do is to say that I kept expecting Gollum and Frodo to appear.

From Ravine Falls we headed further West, to Phantom Falls and Little Phantom Falls at the head of Coal Canyon. Phantom Falls is a 164 foot drop, and Little Phantom is 124 feet. Suffice it to say that you must be very careful about your footing when you visit these falls, especially during rainy days when everything is wet and muddy.

The scenery above Phantom Falls. Dedication plaque at the Phantom Falls overlook. Phantom Falls drops 164 feet. The pool is obscured by these Valley Oaks that grow around the base of the falls. Behind the falls are some caves that I will explore next time I’m there.

Leaving Phantom Falls, we hiked along the length of the ridge towards Little Ravine Falls (a meager 40 foot drop). Along the way we see lots of mushrooms growing out of every cow pie we pass…

Mushrooms. More mushrooms. Little Ravine Falls.

At this point the trail descends into and crosses Coal Canyon. The trail itself is easy to follow and well marked (keep an eye out for the trail markers) although it is a little rough in a few places. And be careful when you go because fording the stream can be tough when it is running high.

Trail marker. Mushrooms. Cow remains. Cow Skull. That eye!

Once we are up the other side of Coal Canyon we had another overland section to cross before reaching Beatson Hollow. We met some more of the locals, including a couple dozen cows (Did I mention their dead friend that we saw in Coal Canyon?) and a Red Salamander. Plus the evidence that the woodpeckers have been busy…

Hello Salamander 🙂 Acorns in a fence post. Cow. Moo.

Once we reached Beaston Hollow the rest of the hike was an easy return to the parking area. We did see more of the beautiful colors* and LOTS of water. Oh, and one final falls, Hollow Falls (45 feet).

4 streams converge below Hollow Falls. Hollow Falls (45 feet). Tom!!

To top it all off, we saw a Tom Turkey on our drive home… All in all it was a beautiful, wet, green day.

Woof!

* I used the “Vivid Colors” filter on my camera for almost every picture of this trip and I really wish I hadn’t. The filter is nice for occasional shots, but I wish I had a more “true color” version of these photos. Next time….