About Rose Valley Falls
Rose Valley Falls was perhaps one of the easier waterfalls that we’ve visited, especially considering it was near the rugged expanse of the Sespe Wilderness north of Ojai.
Therefore, it wasn’t surprising to see that this was also the type of excursion where we tended to see families making a visit.
Perhaps the only caveat to this place was that it probably stretched the limit on what could reasonably be done in a day from Los Angeles given that the falls was probably closer to Santa Barbara than downtown LA.
Indeed, this was one of those places where we relished the opportunity to bring our daughter along and really get to experience this place (especially when we’d go to Santa Barbara).
When we first visited this waterfall, it wasn’t lost upon us that this was one of those limestone-type waterfalls that seemed similar in character to say Nojoqui Falls and Limekiln Falls.
With its accessible lower drop perhaps tumbling some 80ft or more, it was definitely one of the more scenic local waterfalls to be around.
However, we also noticed that there was a plunging upper tier of the Rose Valley Falls, but that tier would only flow impressively immediately after a clearing storm that had pretty significant precipitation.
We were able to see the upper tier in such a state back in 2010, but on our most recent trip in March 2017, it didn’t flow quite as well as it followed nearly a month after the last of nearly historically significant rains that had battered much of the state during the Winter months.
The Hike to Rose Valley Falls
The hike to the base of the falls was a gently uphill 0.4 miles each way on a well-established trail with a stream crossing or two.
We were able to catch glimpses of the upper waterfall from the initial sections of the trail. However, as we got closer to the falls, the views of that upper waterfall became more obstructed.
For the best views of the upper tier, we were able to see it from the Rose Valley Campground area as well as the Rose Valley Road.
After barely 15-20 minutes on the trail, which passed by some minor cascades and waterfalls (each with steep informal scrambling paths to access them), we’d eventually get right up to the base of Rose Valley Falls.
Most of the views of the falls were obstructed by trees until we got right up to its base.
During our first two visits here, we lingered around just to enjoy the water running over the moss-covered wall while also growing the underlying rock as the waters were apparently rich in calcium carbonate (i.e. limestone).
But it was that limestone quality that also prompted locals to show us (on our third visit here) that it was possible to crawl beneath one of the small openings of the bottom of the limestone, which then went into a tight cave where we could crawl in on one side of the falls and emerge out the other side of the falls.
With a headlamp or strong flashlight, one can see the travertine formations within the mini “cave”, and one of the locals even said there were bats and large cave spiders in there as well.
Given how wet the crawl spaces were, this would probably be better suited to film on a GoPro
Authorities
Rose Valley Falls resides in the Los Padres National Forest. For information or inquiries about this area as well as current conditions, visit the Los Padres National Forest website or their Facebook page.
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Driving up to the snow March 1, 2011 4:49 pm - Me and a friend were driving up through the 33 to see some snow because snow level had dropped a lot and hadn't been in the snow for a few years so we went. He showed me a place where he got dropped off for a hike to go through Sespe Creek into Filmore, and… ...Read MoreNearest Waterfalls
