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Cascade Canyon Open Space Preserve

Name: Cascade Canyon Open Space Preserve
Rating: 3.00

Type: Trail

Length: N/A

Elevation Gain: N/A

Cost: N/A

Rating:

(3.00)1

Difficulty: 2stars

(2.00)

Solitude:

(2.00)

ADA Accessible: No

Bikes Allowed: Yes

Dogs Allowed: Yes

Interpretive Guide: N/A

City: Fairfax

County: Marin

More Information: More Info

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High Water Trail parallels San Anselmo Creek near the trailhead.

Today at a bit over 500 acres, Cascade Canyon started off with a land donation by Floyd Elliot, a former mayor of the nearby town of Fairfax. It's a decent sized park, but one with very limited parking options. No parking spaces exist save for street parking along Cascade Drive. Care must be taken to avoid marked "no parking" areas and please respect the area homeowners' driveways. Sage advice would be to plan on arriving early in the day and have a backup plan for another area park if parking is not available here.

Cascade Falls

Very clear water with little sediment and ample pebble-sized rocks in the creeks provide excellent spawning habitat for Coho and Steelhead, some of the best in Marin County. Too much sediment in the water can suffocate their young. Both Coho and Steelhead spend parts of their lives in the open ocean before returning to these streams to spawn. Interestingly, Steelhead can optionally elect to remain in fresh water instead of returning to the ocean to feed. In doing so they take on a different appearance and become known as Rainbow Trout.

The main feature of the park is the namesake Cascade Falls. A short 1 mile walk from the trailhead is all that's needed to be able to enjoy the sight of the falls in the small enclosed canyon. The pleasing but loud sound of the crashing water drowned out the cacophonous sound of cicadas heard elsewhere in the park. Because it's the park's signature feature it also tends to draw the most visitors. If solitude is your goal then you'll want to head to other trails nearby.

Photos

The group heads back towards the trailhead on Cascade Falls Trail. (Photo by Austin Explorer)

Coppertone poses on top of a large boulder that sits just downstream from the falls. (Photo by Austin Explorer)

The signature feature at Cascade Canyon Open Space Preserve, Cascade Falls. (Photo by Austin Explorer)

Not all creek crossings involve getting wet. There's at least one bridge. (Photo by Austin Explorer)

The trail involves several creek crossings. Most are fairly shallow and contain enough rocks to traverse. (Photo by Austin Explorer)

The Sun was shining, but there was plenty of tree cover on the trails. (Photo by Austin Explorer)

Our guided tour group navigates the High Water Trail. (Photo by Austin Explorer)

Log Entries

Guided Tour
By Austin Explorer on 4/3/2016
Rating:

Difficulty:

Solitude:

Distance: 2.03 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 55 minutes

By sheer luck, Coppertone and I showed up at the trailhead just as a Marin County Parks guided hike was to take pace. Though this typically means a slower pace and fewer miles for us, it also means another chance to learn a bit more about the plants and wildlife in our still new home.

About a dozen folks were lead by team of three park rangers who provided all sorts of information about wildflowers found on the trail and the importance of clear stream conditions for steelhead and other fish that call it home.

The size of the group made the turnaround point at Cascade Falls a bit cramped. But it was still scenic and the sound of the crashing water drowned out the cachophy of cicadas in the trees.

We mostly backtracked to the trailhead with a slight change onto the other side of San Anselmo Creek. In the end the round trip was a bit over 2 miles. There's plenty of additional trail miles here that calls for a return visit.