Brooks Falls San Pedro Valley CP: Easy 5.8 Mi or 8.0 Mi Moderate Hike

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CARPOOL REQUEST COMMENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED DUE TO THE LARGE SIZE OF THE GROUP. Please read below how to carpool.

Distance: 8.0 miles, two different loops. First loop 5.8 Miles Option. Your Choice.
Hiking Time: 3 hours, or 4 hours
Elevation Gain/ Loss ±: 1200 feet , or 1860 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Sleep Late and Hike Dog Policy: No Dogs Learn More

Please read our tutorial for hiking in the sun:
https://www.sleeplateandhike.com/tutorials-how-to-hike-in-the-sun/

Facilities: Toilets at trail head
Park Entry Fee: $6

PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO GO BEFORE YOU ARRIVE SO WE CAN START ON TIME. THE GROUP IS TOO LARGE TO WAIT FOR EVERYONE TO USE THE RESTROOM IN THE PARK

RECOMMENDED MAP:

https://www.smcgov.org/media/150065/download?inline=

ALLTRAILS MAP (shows route for 5.8 and 8 mile hikes):

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/custom-routes/map--16350?u=i&sh=pyl4xm

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:

Please use the Google Maps link above to familiarize yourself with the trip and explore various route options from your home. Zoom in all the way.

The GPS locations below and the map link above are accurate enough to find us by looking around with your eyes when you get there.

(Most Cars) GPS Degrees Minutes Seconds Format:

37°34'40.4"N 122°28'32.7"W

(Waze/Google Maps) GPS Degrees Decimal Format:

37.577896,-122.475760

• Most street addresses provided are approximate, and may be up to a couple of miles from the hike location, therefore you must study the google map link at the top. Use GPS coordinates when driving, if possible.

The Waze App will route around "restricted access" roads, unlike the Google Maps app, using the same map data as Google Maps. Therefore, Waze also owned by Google, is recommended over the Google Maps app.

If you have the Waze app installed on your phone, click on this URL in your phone's browser/Meetup app:

http://waze.to/?ll=37.577896,-122.475760&navigate=yes

It will open Waze and start navigating to the trail head.

• As always, it is good practice to confirm the night before that any app you use takes you to where you expect by comparing the destination with what is posted above on your PC/Mac.

PARKING DIRECTIONS:

Parking lot in the park. Larger parking lot on the left, immediately after the entrance. Walk to the parking lot on the right to meet us.

MEETING LOCATION:

The end of the parking lot on the right as you come in.

CARPOOLING:

Please use this link to sign up for carpooling:

https://groupcarpool.com/t/y0ighr

CARPOOLING MANNERS:

Please refrain from trying to negotiate your carpool in the comments, as it is equivalent to sending multiple "Reply All" emails to everyone.

Please start your carpool quest, by first adding yourself to the carpool link above. Then, use the contact info provided by the driver or rider in the link above to contact them directly and privately.

Please be considerate of others and resist the urge to "Reply All".
Thank you for understanding.

SUMMARY:

By hiking the Brooks Creek Trail, you have a chance to see one of the Bay Area’s prettiest waterfalls: Brooks Falls, a tall, narrow cascade of water that plunges 175 feet in three tiers.

HIKING DIRECTIONS:

5.8 Mile Hike:
Start on Plaskon Nature Trail , after crossing the creek turn left at the junction to stay on Plaskon Nature Trail. At the next junction stay to the right on Plaskon Nature Trail to arrive at Weiler Ranch Road Trail. Make a short left then right onto Valley View Trail. Stay on Valley View for 1.4 miles where it again meets Weiler Ranch Road Trail. Take a left on Weiler for 0.3 miles to Hazelnut Trail on the right. Follow Hazelnut for 3.7 miles to return to the parking lot.

8 Mile Hike Continues as follows:
Locate the trailhead for Montara Mountain Trail by the restrooms in San Pedro Valley County Park. A few feet beyond the trailhead, the trail splits: Montara Mountain Trail heads right, and Old Trout Farm Trail heads left. Go left and gently uphill through a dense grove of eucalyptus. At trail junctions, small signs direct you to Waterfall Viewing Area. Bear right at two forks, now following Brooks Creek Trail, and keep heading uphill. The well-graded path soon emerges from the trees to open views of the canyon amid coastal sage scrub, ceanothus, and monkeyflower.

Twenty minutes of well-graded climbing deliver your first glimpse of the waterfall, far off in the canyon on your left. Look for a narrow plume of water cascading down the mountainside. Unfortunately, no trails lead to the base of the waterfall; you can only view it from a distance. The best viewpoint is at a conveniently placed bench right along the trail. After a hard rain, you can hear and see the water crashing down the canyon slopes 0.25 mile away.

Continue uphill on Brooks Creek Trail, gaining more views of Brooks Falls.

The trail tops out on a ridge with an overlook of Pacifica and the ocean to the west and the Marin Headlands to the north. On the clearest days, even the Farallon Islands show up.

Montara Mountain Trail takes off from here; to the left and 2 miles farther is the summit of Montara Mountain (see Montara Mountain Summit listing in this chapter).

Turn right on Montara Mountain Trail and start to descend for 1.3 miles for your return to the parking lot and the completion of the Brooks loop.
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