Feather Falls has been closed since 2020 when the Bear Fire ravaged the entire area overnight. The devastation was immense. But let’s be honest: the Feather Falls Trail should’ve been opened a long time ago, at least a year or a year and a half ago. There is no excuse to leave this major trail closed for so long. The trail is 100% cleared. The bridges are 100% rebuilt. The parking lot is 100% rebuilt and re-paved. The viewing platform is 100% rebuilt. It has been this way for quite a long time now. Indeed, I am not convinced that the viewing platform was ever burned in the Bear Fire. It was rebuilt just prior to the fire and it looks about the same to me. A lot of people have hiked here in the last year before the trail was open and I don’t blame them. I might’ve come here myself if I had any burning desire to do so. The only thing I really wanted to do, however, was to bring Journey here and make a video, and I figured it was best to wait until the trail was re-opened before doing that.
January 1, 2025. The forest order stating the trail closure to Feather Falls is expired. There is no new forest order posted. I checked multiple times, including the day I came here. The thing that bothers me, and I don’t understand, is why the forest service website does not state that the trail is re-opened. Nonetheless, the forest order is expired, so by the default that means the trail is now open again. It was finally time to bring Journey to see magnificent Feather Falls.
The problem with Feather Falls, which has always been a problem, is that it is in the sun most of the day. So that means (for photography) I need to get up at 4AM, drive out to the trailhead, and start hiking in the dark. This is not good for me but it is especially not good for Journey as she is definitely not a morning dog. That was not going to work for us. The only other option is to wait for a cloudy day. Two of my three weather apps said it was going to be cloudy in the afternoon at around 3 to 4PM. The third one said it was going to be sunny. I thought it would be worth trying it and hopefully 66.67% of the forecasters were not wrong.
We arrived at the re-paved parking lot at 12:30 PM. It was very sunny. We were the only ones there but clearly a lot of people have hiked this trail in recent days or months. The trail is very different. Before the fire the trail was mostly through the forest. Now the forest is completely gone. It is 100% exposed to the elements. This hike is going to be absolutely brutal in the summer. Also, you can now essentially see the entire loop trail as you hike along. That means you will be able to see all the people hiking behind you or ahead of you on the trail. But as I said, there was no one else here when we came.
Journey really struggled on the hike to the waterfall for some reason. After 2 1/2 miles she acted like she wanted to go back. She was tired. I think it was because it was very warm out. Imagine what it would be like if it was summer, though. You should definitely not bring your dog here in the summer. Or your kids. Or even yourself. 9 miles of hiking completely exposed to the sun when it is over 90 degrees? I will not be surprised to hear of someone dying from heat exposure. It was warm for us but not so hot and we were over halfway to the waterfall. I urged her to continue on.
We arrived at the viewing platform at 2:30PM. It was completely sunny. Journey had a snack and then she laid down on the deck to snooze for about 45 minutes. I sat down to enjoy the waterfall and waited for the clouds to arrive. I was not too hopeful because there was nothing around at all, nonetheless, at about 3:15PM the clouds made an appearance and I was able to take some good photos. It would have been even better if I waited longer but then we would have been hiking in the dark. I got my shot and I was happy. We left at 3:30PM and headed back.
The shorter loop going back is much more difficult but after her long rest Journey had her second wind and she did great on the hike back. Much better than me in fact. I was quite struggling on the uphill. Journey was way ahead of me the entire time but she always waits for me to catch up. I love that about her. We got back to the car at 5PM and drove home but stopped for a hamburger, which she mightily deserved. We had a terrific hike to spectacular 410 ft. high Feather Falls.
