Dawn Falls
(Sunday, May 25, 2003 in Fairfax, CA)

The trail gently wound its way along a creek and through a lovely redwood forest. The creek was intermittent, making us wonder if there was going to be any water in the falls, assuming that this creek was the one that went over the falls. There were a handful of folks around, many of them with dogs, who seemed very happy to be splashing in the stream and running through the forest. All were well-behaved, and some were friendly, as it should be!

The trail turned into a steep series of switchbacks, making us wonder if we'd hiked too far, since our map didn't show switchbacks before the falls, but we continued on and soon came to the "falls," a thin trickle going over a small'ish 25 foot drop. Not too terribly impressive, but it was worth the trip just for the pleasant redwood forest hiking! I tried to get to the bottom of the trickle to take some pictures, but the terrain was too loose and steep for my Tevas. We hiked back the way we came and soon arrived back at the car.

This hike would probably better be saved for a wetter time of the year, and would probably be splendid some wet winter morning. With some other trails in the area, it appears some nice longer loops could be constructed.

Hike Stats:

Distance:	2.4mi
Total Time:	1h 6m
Elevation gain:	A couple hundred feet.
Difficulty:	4
Scenery:	7
Trail condition/markings/etc:	7
Overall rating:	7