Environment |

This ‘hidden’ Dana Point waterfall only appears after heavy rain

Clark Reeder gazed up at the cascading water that drizzled down into a lush green, tropical landscape.

He’d heard about the elusive waterfall next to the Dana Point Harbor, only visible after heavy rainfall, for years on social media and news outlets.

“I’ve lived here my whole life and have never seen it,” said the Lake Forest resident, who spent about half an hour Wednesday morning snapping photos. “This is amazing. People go all around the world to see something this pretty.”

Thanks to floods of photos and videos on social media each time this waterfall appears, this longtime local secret is now a popular tourist draw anytime Dana Point streets get soaked.

Beautiful urban run off

Mark Girardeau, an outdoor photographer who created the website Orange County Outdoors, said he first heard about the waterfall a few years ago on Facebook.

“So many people don’t even know this waterfall exists because it only flows while it’s raining,” he said.

He’s familiar with all the local waterfalls, often doing short hikes to some off Ortega Highway during wet winter seasons, or doing longer treks to others tucked away in Trabuco Canyon — those require an intense hike and can be dangerous after storms.

RELATED: Here’s a map of all the local waterfalls

“We have several waterfalls here in OC and this is the easiest one to get to; the whole family can see it without having to hike through rough terrain or even get out of the car,” he said.

On Tuesday, he set up his camera on a time-lapse, 15-second video to show a steady stream of camera-clutching visitors who stopped to enjoy the sight.

While the fall, framed by tropical palms, is a beautiful attraction, the water that comes down is basically storm and runoff water from around homes and businesses in the city’s Lantern District.

It drains through a concrete pipe that crosses Pacific Coast Highway and Del Prado and discharges over the cliff near Baby Beach in the harbor.

“This is nice, as long as you don’t take a photo of that,” Reeder noted, pointing to a catch basin surrounded with brown, foamy water filled with leaves and debris.

Girardeau said he’s been wondering about other waterfalls in the region. He said he checked a popular waterfall off Ortega Highway after the last big storm, but it was just a trickle.

“I think it still needs more to be flowing good,” he said. “During the rain, it will be that muddy water.”

Social media attraction

Across the street from the waterfall, Monica Mata sat in her car with her sleeping 9-month-old baby, gazing out of her window as a light drizzle came down Wednesday morning.

Mata, from San Diego, first learned about the waterfall from photos on Pinterest.   

With another daughter at school in San Juan Capistrano, Mata often visits the harbor while waiting to pick her up. She’s seen other popular attractions like the holiday boat parade, but never noticed the waterfall.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen it,” she said, adding that she was impressed and glad she finally got to see it up close.

“They say it’s only when there’s heavy rain,” she said. “Other than that, you won’t see the waterfall.”

The waterfall even has its own hashtag, #dpwaterfall. When the area flooded in December after heavy rains, the fall appeared in photos and video on social media showing the streets under water.

In fact, pass by on a dry day, and the waterfall won’t be anywhere in sight. There’s no indication that a waterfall exists here — but there is a sign warning people to not drink the water.

A website called the World of Waterfalls has a write-up about the Dana Point waterfall. Initially, the author was unaware of the “Dana Point Falls” until a mention popped up on an Orange County blog, according to the website.

“Perhaps part of the reason why this place was so unknown to all but locals or those familiar with the Dana Point area was that this was a very temporary or ephemeral waterfall,” it reads. “In other words, if you weren’t here in the middle of a storm with heavy rainfall, you’re not likely to see this waterfall flow.”

The website’s author would only “marginally count this as a legitimate waterfall,” scoring it with a 1 rating.

“However, it was the scenic allure and oceanfront location that sort of gave this falls the benefit of the doubt.”