Burney Falls in Northern California Has Reopened With a New Trail

The trail to the Burney Falls at McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park in Northern California has reopened to visitors. Here's how to see it responsibly.

The National Park Service reported a record 331.9 million visits in 2024, showing just how much we are all craving getting a little time outside with Mother Nature. However, we sometimes love Mother Nature a little too much, which was the case with one particular site in the McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park in Northern California, which was forced to close several trails for nine months for repairs after its record-breaking visitor numbers.

But now, the trails are back and ready for (responsible) action—and will lead you to arguably one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the nation.

Located about a five-hour drive north of San Francisco, travelers can explore the park's five miles of trails, several of which lead to and around the 129-foot Burney Falls, which the park website says “is not the highest or largest waterfall in the state, but possibly the most beautiful.”

The park's site additionally explains that the water for the falls comes from its underground springs, flowing to Lake Britton, “getting larger along the way to the majestic falls.”

The spring months are, without question, when the falls peak thanks to additional spring rains and snow melt. This helps push more water down its face, flowing over moss and ferns, tumbling into a crystal clear pool at the base, giving a truly picture-perfect experience.

It's such a beautiful scene that visitor numbers swelled from 250,000 to over 350,000 annually over the last few years, according to Active NorCal. And that excessive use caused the 1.1-mile Burney Fall Loop Trail and the 2.6-mile Burney Creek Trail infrastructure to fail, creating a potentially dangerous environment for visitors. 

California State Parks quickly took action, closing the trails for the better part of 2024 as part of an $835,000 project to repair both. It also worked in tandem with Caltrans' multi-million-dollar Highway 89 improvement project, which is also the main route to access the park and trails.

And just as the parks department estimated, everything is now back up and running at the park just in time for the spring and summer season. However, California State Parks is warning people: “McArthur Burney Falls State Park experiences extremely high visitation beginning in April and continuing through October. Most weekends all summer, the park will fill to capacity, and entrance into the park is subject to closure due to limited parking availability.”

It added that would-be visitors should expect traffic delays “for up to an hour prior to entering the park due to the increased visitation experienced at this park.” 

Still, if you're up for an early-morning adventure, or time your trip well, it could all be worth it. After all, it's such a beautiful sight that former President Teddy Roosevelt even nicknamed it “the eighth wonder of the world.” Just make sure to abide by the Leave No Trace Principles to keep this place as pristine as you found it.