About Sturtevant Falls
Sturtevant Falls was one of the more attractive waterfalls in the Southern California area.
The moss and algae growing on the cliff where its waters ran added lovely colors to this pleasant 50ft waterfall.
We also liked this waterfall enough to give it a spot on our Top 10 List of Southern California Waterfalls.
We noticed that this waterfall was an extremely popular attraction.
That probably had a lot to do with its location in Big Santa Anita Canyon in the foothills of the Angeles National Forest.
That was where the urban sprawl sat right up against these foothills at Sierra Madre (just north of the suburb of Arcadia).
Parking Difficulties
On our most recent visits here, we ended up having a difficult time finding parking that was reasonably close to the trailhead at Chantry Flat (see directions below).
Typically under these circumstances, we would eventually find parking at a suitable pullout further down the winding mountain.
Of course, we’d do this after securing a day pass beforehand or at the pack station at Chantry Flat.
Thus, we could wind up walking an additional 1/4- or even more than a mile in each direction just to get started!
Therefore, what was supposed to be a roughly 3.2-mile round trip hike could turn out to be closer to 4 or even 5 miles round trip!
Indeed, it seemed that the parking situation continued to get worse over the years.
That said, the authorities here seemed to be very keen on writing tickets for not parking behind the white lines or not having permits displayed.
Trail Description
Once we made it to the trailhead at the the Chantry Flat Fire Road gate, we walked downhill along the hot, exposed-to-the-sun, paved road.
It led right down to creek level in the depths of Big Santa Anita Canyon.
Notice I said downhill, which meant this trail was kind of an upside-down hike.
Thus, we knew that we were going to have to climb back up this paved stretch at the end of our hike.
Along this descent, right at the second significant bend, there was a trail junction leading away from the pavement on a narrower trail towards Hermit Falls.
We have a separate write-up for that waterfall, and we’ll not get into that on this page.
Once at the base of the descent, the pavement gave way to a well-established, forest-shaded dirt trail.
Idyllic cabins built before the area was designated Forest Service land flanked the wide and busy foot trail.
Many of these cabins looked like they were still in use (even actively inhabited).
In fact, many of the cabins appeared to have been renovated or well kept.
I even remembered smelling burning wood as apparently one of those cabins was cooking up something over a wood fire.
Along the creek, we found several man-made dams, which I suspected were either for small scale hydroelectricity for the cabins, flood control, or some kind of water diversion.
I wasn’t sure.
After we reached a series of conspicuous cabins next to the trail (one of which was called Bombadil’s Castle, whose name I’d imagine came from the Lord of the Rings
That was the first of three fairly straight-forward stream crossings.
In high flow, it might require some nifty boulder hopping (hiking sticks would be good for balance) to keep the shoes from getting soaked.
After traversing the last crossing, we made it to the base of the attractive (especially by Southern California standards) Sturtevant Falls.
To get right in front of the waterfall for a direct look at it, we crossed the creek one more time.
And like most waterfalls in the Southern California area, the popularity of the falls made us share it with at least 20 to 30 people at a time.
I suppose since we came on weekends (once on a Memorial Day Monday), this shouldn’t have been surprising.
Therefore, I’d imagine it would be much quieter on weekdays.
Nonetheless, we still found it somewhat hard to believe that such a getaway could be so close to the city.
Indeed, we found it to be a great way to get good exercise, scenery, and a revitalization of mind and body.
Authorities
Sturtevant Falls resides in the Angeles National Forest. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website or Facebook page.
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Chantry Flats to Stuartevant Falls – Lots of stories and photo ops January 30, 2015 4:47 am - Chantry Flats to Stuartevant Falls for years (try, over a fifty year time frame) was a favorite hike of ours. Often two or three times per week by either of the two low-end approaches; occasionally from Wilson parking lot or even Red Box. Weekdays have always been the best. Up past the falls into Winter… ...Read More Long time visitor (Sturtevant Falls) January 23, 2015 4:20 pm - I grew up in El Monte Ca during a time when the city was spending a goodly amount of money on the parks service basically having all the parks staffed daily during the summer by college student whose main job was to organize activities for us kids. I lived by Fletcher park....we called ourselves the… ...Read More Such fun was had by all (Sturtevant Falls) December 30, 2012 4:46 am - Just went today with my husband and friend. It had been raining off and on all day but we went anyway. The walk was long but worth it. I'm not in the best shape but I made it and I would say it wasn't bad. Once we got to the falls it was amazing we… ...Read More This Year Bummed Me Out (Sturtevant Falls) July 24, 2012 9:45 pm - Last year during this time there was so much water and the streams were rushing water... This past Sunday, 7 of us went on the hike hoping to have a great time, but there was no water... Water was still and dirty for not moving much. Not only that someone decided not to be so… ...Read More Sturtevant Falls October 8, 2008 4:47 am - This was a pretty cool waterfall. We went in early March and there was plenty of water. It's a somewhat steep hike down a paved path and then a pretty hike along a nice stream. A great half day adventure from LA. ...Read MoreVisitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
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