Looking for something fun to do on a Sunday afternoon? How about a short hike to see a small waterfall? Well we thought it sounded like a great idea to visit Holy Jim Falls. The waterfall is located in Trabuco Canyon right near our home. We hadn’t gone to see the falls before, mostly because we didn’t own a vehicle that could safely navigate the 5 mile journey off road back into the canyon. Enter the Land Rover. We were excited to go hike the trail, the Land Rover was probably excited too, finally getting off road to do its thing.
The ride in was fun. We took the entire family since everyone told us it was an easy hike. We went late in the day and arrived at the trail head around 5 pm. The walk in to the fall is mostly uphill. It probably is an easy walk if you are simply walking the trail. A few creek crossings, some low overhangs, rocky in a few spots and one or two steep spots. Really not too tough. Of course we had a few little girls with us for whom the walk was too big of a challenge.
Siena wanted to walk but the trail was too challenging in spots for her. Bella wanted to walk too but not to cross over the creeks. So we carried the two of them through the challenging sections and Siena got carried most of the way up. It was along walk than we expected and took about an hour to get back to the fall. The water was actually running pretty good and the waterfall is only about 2 stories high. A little anti-climatic if you have seen bigger waterfalls in your life, but nice for something so close to home. Our late start was a little ill-planned and left us with a short visit to the falls and then a hike back out. On the way out Bella gained some confidence and started crossing the creek on her own. Siena wanted to run all the way down the hill since downhill was easier.
It was hot, we got pretty dirty but we had a nice afternoon together as a family. Next time we go we will do it earlier in the day so we can plan a picnic and at time of year when the weather is a bit cooler. If you live locally and have a vehicle that will get you back to the trailhead it’s worth the walk.
