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Unincorporated Outdoor Adventurer Hiking National Forests Trails

Hike to Curtain Falls

August 13, 2026 (Originally published April 07, 2020)
2025 09 08 Curtain Falls Dome Trail 45 Web EDITED

Cur­tain Falls is a nat­ur­al gran­ite water slide on the Mid­dle Fork Feath­er Riv­er, locat­ed 45 min­utes north­east of Oroville, Cal­i­for­nia. Reach­ing this clear, emer­ald-green swim­ming hole requires a steep, stren­u­ous canyon descent and strong swim­ming skills, mak­ing it a trip suit­ed strict­ly for con­fi­dent, expe­ri­enced hikers.

The Jour­ney Down

The trip starts at the Dome Trail­head with expan­sive views of gran­ite boul­ders. That easy open­ing gives way to a chal­leng­ing descent: 31 tight switch­backs drop­ping down into the canyon ravine.

At the bot­tom, calm and rush­ing riv­er pools carved direct­ly into the bedrock offer an imme­di­ate pay­off. The pools are filled with clear and sparkling green water, unique to the area due the com­bi­na­tion of the water’s min­er­al con­tent and granite.

Reach­ing the Water Slide

Cur­tain Falls sits a quar­ter-mile upstream from where the trail ends at the riv­er, and you can see them from the trail’s end.

  • Slow­er Swim­mers & Rest Seek­ers: Stay at the end of the trail. Dip in the edge pools, catch your breath, and stay safe near the shore.
  • Strong Swim­mers: Con­tin­ue upstream across the boul­ders along the bank. You’ll have to swim across the riv­er to reach the main falls.

Rest up, eat, and drink plen­ty of flu­ids before start­ing the trek back. The climb out climbs back up those 31 steep switchbacks.

Quick Facts

Trail Dif­fi­cul­ty: Stren­u­ous / Advanced hik­ers only

Loca­tion: Mid­dle Fork Feath­er Riv­er, near Oroville, CA

Trail­head Access: Dome Trail­head (Road 21N51Y)

Best Months to Hike: May and Sep­tem­ber (warm weath­er with­out severe sum­mer heat)

Key Fea­tures: 31 canyon switch­backs, deep swim­ming holes, large gran­ite rocks for sunbathing

Essen­tial Safe­ty & Plan­ning Tips

Pack Extra Water: Car­ry twice as much water as you think you need, plus three addi­tion­al bot­tles. Bring iodine tablets or a LifeS­traw just in case.

Avoid High Heat: Sun­light bounc­ing off exposed gran­ite bakes the canyon. Start ear­ly in the morn­ing and avoid hik­ing in extreme after­noon heat.

Expect Cold Water: Moun­tain riv­er runoff stays cold all year, even on hot sum­mer days.

File a Trav­el Plan: Cell ser­vice is non-exis­tent down in the canyon. Tell a friend where you are going, share your expect­ed return time, and check in the sec­ond you return to town.

How to Get There

  1. From Oroville, CA, head east on High­way 162 toward Berry Creek.
  2. Turn right onto Bald Rock Road.
  3. Turn onto the dirt road signed for The Dome Trail (Road 21N51Y) and fol­low it for about nine miles.
  4. Turn left at the marked junc­tion rough­ly 2.7 miles down this road and park at the trailhead.