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Oroville Outdoor Adventurer Hiking National Forests

Explore the Scenic Feather Falls: Butte County's Grandest Waterfall

April 01, 2026 (Originally published February 27, 2024)
Feather Falls (2026)

If you are explor­ing North­ern Cal­i­for­ni­a’s hik­ing trails and water­falls, Feath­er Falls belongs at the top of your list.

The impres­sive water­fall, often described as a Yosemite-style cas­cade with­out the crowds, fea­tures a dra­mat­ic 410-foot drop in a stun­ning Sier­ra Neva­da set­ting. The chal­leng­ing 7 – 9 mile hike (depend­ing on your cho­sen route) takes you through beau­ti­ful moun­tain scenery to two dra­mat­ic water­fall lookouts.

One vis­it, and you’ll see for your­self why this Butte Coun­ty favorite is also one of Cal­i­for­ni­a’s best waterfalls.

Explore the Scenic Feather Falls: Butte County's Grandest Waterfall

Post-Fire Vis­i­ta­tion: Prepar­ing for the Trail

In the wake of the North Com­plex Fire in 2020, the land­scape of the Feath­er Falls trail has changed. What was once a dense, shad­ed for­est jour­ney now reveals an exposed, recov­er­ing ecosystem.

  • Be Pre­pared: The trail is now ful­ly exposed to the ele­ments. Vis­i­tors should pre­pare with ade­quate sun pro­tec­tion, plen­ty of water, and snacks.
  • Safe­ty: Always hike with a trav­el buddy.
  • Restora­tion: The For­est Ser­vice com­plet­ed com­pre­hen­sive trail restora­tion in 2025, rebuild­ing bridges and obser­va­tion plat­forms to safe­ly reopen the area to visitors.

Choos­ing Your Route to Feath­er Falls

Hik­ers can choose between tak­ing in the falls from the main over­look or hik­ing to the top for a dra­mat­ic view and access to the beau­ti­ful Fall Riv­er that feeds the falls.

Safe­ty Tip: The trail beyond the over­look is less main­tained and vis­i­tors should stay out of Fall Riv­er imme­di­ate­ly above the waterfall.

There are three options to choose from when vis­it­ing the Feath­er Falls over­look. All options will begin with a 1⁄3 mile sec­tion of trail at the very begin­ning and anoth­er 1⁄4 mile sec­tion of trail just before the overlook.

  • The Low­er / West­ern Side (Short­er but Steep­er): This side is the short­est option to the Feath­er Falls over­look at approx­i­mate­ly 3.5 miles one way, but a return trip on this sec­tion will include two miles of con­tin­u­ous uphill grade before you get back to the car.
  • The Upper / East­ern Side (Longer but Less Stren­u­ous): This side of the trail fol­lows the con­tours of the land­scape in a way that makes it less steep but longer com­pared to the oth­er side. It is approx­i­mate­ly 4.5 miles one way from the park­ing lot to the over­look using this option.
  • The Full Loop (Most Pop­u­lar): Most vis­i­tors to the Feath­er Falls over­look choose to com­bine both options into a loop which comes in around 8 miles round trip. It ​‘s rec­om­mend­ed to do the loop clock­wise, tak­ing the Low­er Side of the loop to the over­look and return­ing along the Upper Side for a less stren­u­ous climb back to the car.

No mat­ter which option you choose, be sure to allow a min­i­mum of four to five hours for the trip.

Hydra­tion Tip: Restrooms and non-potable water are avail­able at the trail­head, but bring drink­ing water or a water puri­fi­er for the long hike.

Lady­bug Alert

Every year, typ­i­cal­ly between Novem­ber and March, mil­lions of migrat­ing lady­bugs call Frey Creek home, so keep your eyes open along the 9‑mile Feath­er Falls route.

Direc­tions from Oroville

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