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Oroville Outdoor Adventurer Hiking National Forests

Explore the Scenic Feather Falls

September 30, 2025 (Originally published February 27, 2024)
feather-falls-landscape-waterfall-hiking_oroville-ca
Gunnar Loveland

Those explor­ing the var­i­ous water­falls in North­ern Cal­i­for­nia or North­ern Cal­i­for­nia hik­ing trails should put Feath­er Falls at the top of their to-vis­it list.

A Yosemite-style water­fall with­out the crowds, Feath­er Falls’ 410-foot drop is an impres­sive dis­play of nature’s grandeur in a dra­mat­ic Sier­ra Neva­da set­ting. Hike 7 – 9 miles (depend­ing on which trail you choose) through beau­ti­ful moun­tain scenery to reach two dra­mat­ic water­fall lookouts.

Dur­ing cer­tain times of year, keep your eyes open for mil­lions of migrat­ing lady­bugs at Frey Creek. Hik­ers can take in the falls from the look­out, or hike to the top for a dra­mat­ic view and access to beau­ti­ful Fall Riv­er that feeds the falls.

One vis­it to this Butte Coun­ty favorite will make it clear why it’s one of the Cal­i­for­ni­a’s best waterfalls.

Explore the Scenic Feather Falls
Gunnar Loveland

Post-Fire Vis­i­ta­tion

In the wake of the North Com­plex Fire in 2020 and the Dix­ie Fire in 2021, what was once a dense, shad­ed for­est jour­ney now reveals a stark, recov­er­ing ecosys­tem. The trail is now ful­ly exposed to the ele­ments, so vis­i­tors should pre­pare with ade­quate sun pro­tec­tion, plen­ty of water and snacks, and a trav­el buddy.

In 2025, the For­est Ser­vice com­plet­ed com­pre­hen­sive trail restora­tion, rebuild­ing bridges and obser­va­tion plat­forms to safe­ly reopen the area to visitors.

Hik­ing to Feath­er Falls

There are two options to reach the over­look at Feath­er Falls.

At 1⁄3 mile past the trail­head, the trail diverges. For the more expe­ri­enced hik­er, take the steep 3.3 mile path to the west, which fea­tures about two miles of uphill grade.

The gen­tly slop­ing 4.5 mile path to the east is ide­al for the inex­pe­ri­enced hiker.

The two trails con­verge approx­i­mate­ly 1⁄2 mile before reach­ing the Feath­er Falls obser­va­tion deck.

Allow a min­i­mum of four to five hours to hike the nine-mile loop. Take plen­ty of water. Restrooms and non-potable water are avail­able at the trail­head near the park­ing area, but bring drink­ing water or a water puri­fi­er for the hike.

Direc­tions

Leav­ing from Oroville at Oro-Dam Blvd. and High­way 70:

  • Turn Right at Oro-Quin­cy High­way (Hwy 162) and dri­ve for 7.3 miles
  • Turn Right at Forbestown Rd. and dri­ve for 5.1 miles
  • Turn Left at Lump­kin Rd. and dri­ve for 10.5 miles
  • Turn Left at 21N35Y; the trail­head will be 1 mile ahead