DANA POINT – When Lauren Dahlitz heard the sound of rainfall this week, she knew exactly where to go.
A huge waterfall cascading off towering cliffs in Dana Point Harbor has been drawing Dahlitz and dozens of other onlookers since the rain began Tuesday. The waterfall was particularly special for Dahlitz when she returned Wednesday on her 28th birthday.
“Around where the water flows it looks really tropical and makes me feel like I’m in Hawaii,” the Dana Point resident said. “I make it a point to go there every time it rains. It’s not something we see all the time. It’s amazing, especially for someone from California where it doesn’t rain a lot.”
The amazing sight is a brand new surprise for visitors to the harbor, but for locals it’s sort of a secret until it rains. Since photos and videos have appeared on social media in the last day, Dana Point Harbor Drive beneath the waterfall has been lined with cars and passersby as though it were a sunny summer day.
Dahlitz was among dozens who gathered there Tuesday. Some watched it from the comfort of their cars while sipping coffee, while others braved the rain to take selfies and videos.
The waterfall has been a harbor icon for decades. While the sight is beautiful and tranquil, the water that comes down is basically storm and runoff water from around homes and businesses in the city’s Lantern District.
The water drains through a 66-inch-diameter reinforced concrete pipe. It crosses Pacific Coast Highway and Del Prado, runs beneath the post office and then discharges over the cliffs down to Dana Point Harbor.
“Before the city was involved, the county decided it was appropriate to let storm water flow down in a waterfall,” said Brad Fowler, the city’s director of Public Works. “It catches in a basin, runs under Dana Point Harbor Drive and empties into Dana Point Harbor.”
Jim Miller, president of the Dana Point Harbor Association and owner of Coffee Importers in the harbor, has known about the waterfall for 30 years and on Tuesday afternoon passed by droves of people checking it out.
“It’s like a mini attraction,” he said. “People come down here to see it every time it rains. Maybe I should take a pot of coffee and just stand there.”
Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@ocregister.com or twitter:@lagunaini
