Kaden Reedes looked up at the flowing water, marveling at the sight near the Dana Point Harbor.
“I think it is amazing and beautiful,” the 9-year-old said. “It’s my first waterfall, ever. I just never knew it would be this beautiful.”
Well, kind of.
The famed Dana Point Waterfall is actually stormwater runoff in disguise. Still, it has become a draw for lookie-loos and spectators armed with cameras and cell phones to snap photos and selfies in front of the famed sight.
The waterfall only shows up while, and shortly after, heavy rains, making it an elusive attraction that lures people from near and far.
The storm runoff water funnels down from homes and businesses in the city’s Lantern District, through a concrete pipe that crosses Pacific Coast Highway and Del Prado and discharges over the cliff near Baby Beach in the harbor.
Yellow caution tape and warning signs surrounded the falls and the drainage area where the water flows down.
Pass by on a dry day, and the waterfall won’t be anywhere in sight, with no indication that it even exists here.
Set around the flowing falls are palm trees and lush landscaping, giving a faraway feel for people who come to admire them.
“Every time it rains, it just makes you feel like you’re in another area, it takes you to Hawaii,” said Gale Lorton, a Dana Point resident. “I love coming to see nature. It’s just amazing.”
The water had a hint of brown Tuesday afternoon, so people would be wise to stay clear of the discharge.
“You don’t want to go play in there,” said Rancho Mission Viejo resident Tyler Martina, who came out to see it as soon as there was a break in the rain. “Last year, people were letting their kids swim in there, and I was like, ‘No, don’t do that!’”
The waterfall was a perfect getaway when there was a break in the rain by Tuesday afternoon.
“You never get stuck inside here; once you get stuck inside for two days, it’s like ‘gotta get out to do something’,”’ he said.
For Kaden’s mom, Amy, it was the perfect after-school outing to enjoy the outdoors.
“To see this kind of thing is just breathtaking,” she said. “I think it’s cool, too, the community comes together to see something like this and pause in life.”
Dan Corwin was waiting to meet his 32-year-old daughter Chelsea, who told him about the falls.
“It’s cool,” he said. “I never knew about this.”
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