8   Carson Falls

Upper section of Carson Falls Upper section of Carson Falls

Location: Fairfax, Mt. Tamalpais, Marin Municipal Water District, Marin County Height: 75 ft. Access:            Distance: 3.6 miles (RT) Elevation: 1100 ft. (+350 ft., -450 ft.) Season: Dec-May Difficulty: Lat/Long:37.96975, -122.64444 Directions:Take Hwy #101 to San Rafael, and take the Sir Francis Drake Blvd. exit. Drive 6 miles to Fairfax, and turn left on Pacheco Rd. (may be unsigned). Take an immediate right on Broadway, then first left on Bolinas Rd. Drive 3.8 miles to gated Pine Mountain Rd. on the right; there is a large parking area on the left side of the road.

Carson Falls, aka Little Carson Falls, drops 75 ft. along Little Carson Creek, in four tiers. The last drop is a splendid 32 ft. high freefall. In the winter months after a lot of rain, Carson Falls is an amazing rushing set of falls. But in the summer, it is only a little trickle. When I came here in Jan. 2008, after a huge storm, the waterfall was amazing.

You begin hiking up Pine Mtn. Rd from the trail head, and gain 350 ft. in elevation once you've hiked 1 mile to the top of the mountain. There are many great views of the surrounding Marin County hills as you hike up this dirt road. This is also a popular area for mountain bikers. At the top, turn left on Oat Hill Rd at the trail junction, and follow this dirt road down about a quarter-mile, looking for a spur trail leading down the mountain side on your right. The spur trail is no longer at the telephone pole; there is a newly built trail now just past here. This spur trail leads down to the waterfall in another 0.3 miles, losing 450 ft. in elevation. Bikes are not permitted on this spur trail.

Once at Little Carson Creek, cross the creek on the new bridge and follow the trail down to the base of the falls. The best views are on the far side of the creek, where you can see all 4 tiers of the waterfall. I measured the 4 tiers as being 75 ft. high in total. There is also another 15 ft. waterfall above these 4 tiers, just below the bridge over the creek. It seemed to me that this little waterfall is a separate waterfall from the main drops of Carson Falls; thus, I did not include this in my height measurement.

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Other waterfalls nearby:

Cascade Falls	1.55 miles
Cataract Falls	2.65 miles
Morses Gulch Falls	3.38 miles
Loma Alta Falls	3.45 miles
Dawn Falls	4.91 miles
Steep Ravine Falls	5.24 miles
Cascade Falls	5.76 miles
Stairstep Falls	6.08 miles
Warner Falls	6.32 miles
Arroyo San Jose Falls	6.97 miles
Pacheco Creek Falls	7.25 miles
Mountain View Falls	7.41 miles
Alamere Falls	7.45 miles
Phantom Falls	8.27 miles
Abrigo Falls	26.18 miles
Brooks Falls	28.87 miles
Devils Well	29.22 miles

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