Phantom Falls

Locat­ed at North Table Moun­tain Eco­log­i­cal Reserve, Phan­tom Falls is a beau­ti­ful sea­son­al water­fall that flows only dur­ing the rainy sea­son and ear­ly spring. It earns its name because it dis­ap­pears dur­ing the dry season.

Offi­cial­ly known as Coal Canyon Falls, Phan­tom Falls runs off the edge of Coal Canyon and drops 166 feet into a small pool at the bottom.

The hike to Phan­tom Falls is espe­cial­ly beau­ti­ful dur­ing wild­flower sea­son, but vis­it any time dur­ing the rainy sea­son to enjoy this ephemer­al waterfall.

Lands Pass­es & Stew­ard­ship Rules

A CDFW Lands Pass must be in pos­ses­sion by each vis­i­tor who is 16 years of age or old­er. Vis­i­tors with a valid Cal­i­for­nia hunt­ing or fish­ing license in their name are exempt from this requirement.

Lands pass­es may be pur­chased on-line, by phone at (800) 565‑1458, or in-per­son wher­ev­er hunt­ing and fish­ing licens­es are sold.

Trip Tips & Leave No Trace

• Footwear and Water: Stur­dy closed-toe footwear and water bot­tles are advised.
• Restrooms & Trash: Garbage cans and bath­rooms are only avail­able at the park­ing lot. Plan accord­ing­ly and make sure to pack out your trash and fol­low oth­er Leave No Trace principles.
• Wild­flow­ers: Enjoy the views of the wild­flow­ers, not in the wild­flow­ers (do not pick or walk on them).
• Nat­ur­al Resources: Remov­ing, col­lect­ing, or dis­turb­ing any nat­ur­al resources (min­er­al, plant, ani­mal) is prohibited.
• Cat­tle: Do not approach the cat­tle clos­er than 300 feet. Cat­tle graz­ing is used to man­age vegetation.
• Dogs: Dogs must be on a leash.
• Map: Use the cor­rect map for the lat­est trail to Phan­tom Falls (get the Aven­za ver­sion)

Park­ing Requirements

Park­ing is avail­able in a grav­el lot on the west side of Chero­kee Road. The lot has a lim­it­ed num­ber of spaces, so please plan to arrive early.

• Vio­la­tions: No park­ing on the pave­ment is allowed along the paved por­tion of Chero­kee Road, begin­ning approx­i­mate­ly 3.0 miles north of the inter­sec­tion of Ore­gon Gulch Road (large park­ing turnout near the crest of Chero­kee Road) to Der­rick Road (map)
• Vehi­cles park­ing on the shoul­der must be parked com­plete­ly off the pave­ment; vio­la­tors are sub­ject to tow.

Dri­ving Directions

• From Oroville, head­ing north on Hwy 70, exit at Grand Ave. (Exit 48)
• Go east (right) on Grand Ave. for 1 mile
• Turn left on Table Moun­tain Blvd for a tenth of a mile
• Turn right on Chero­kee Road and dri­ve 6.3 miles north to the reserve
• Offi­cial access is through the small park­ing lot on the west side of Chero­kee Road