- Miles: No Hiking Required
- Best Season: Mid-Late Spring
- Max Elevation: 4400 ft
- Parking Lot: Fits ≈ 5 cars
- Dogs: Allowed on a leash
- Restrooms: Not Available
- Pics Taken On: Aug 21, 2023
Next time you find yourself on the way to Big Bear do yourself a favor and stop at the intersection of Hwy 38 and Valley of the Falls Rd to witness a spectacular seasonal waterfall.
Monkeyface Falls is one of the four enormous waterfalls in the area.This must-see gem is AT LEAST 400 ft tall (I honestly believe it may be bigger than the largest waterfall in SoCal), but it only flows after a decent amount of rain. Try to get out there no longer than a week after heavy rain or a couple of days after ordinary rainfall.
Did you know the largest waterfall in SoCal is literally 5 minutes down the street? It’s called Big Falls, a 500 ft beast of a cascade located in the sleepy town of Forest Falls.
Monkeyface Creek Falls Map
Directions
Click the link here to be redirected to Google Maps. There is no parking on Valley of The Falls Rd that is close enough to view the falls, so you’ll have to park on Hwy 38.
Helpful Links
SoCal Adventure Pass (required for parking in CA mountains)
Monkeyface Falls
I flew my drone from Hwy 38 to the falls in a matter of seconds. The reason I don’t recommend hiking up to the waterfall, especially after heavy rain, is because of the two rockslides at the entrance of the tributary.
The image below is a shot of the bottom tiers.
The tiers directly above look just as nice. Since I visited shortly after Hurricane Hilary, the falls had a good amount of water.
Want to hike to another enormous waterfall which is also in San Bernardino County? Check out 495 foot Bonita Falls! It’s only a 1.4 mile hike located in the mountain town of Lytle Creek.
Here’s a shot of the bottom and mid-tiers.
The waterfall was so enormous that I had to fly back hundreds of feet from the cascade in order to capture all of its tiers. The falls is easily 400-500 ft tall.
I’m not sure why they call it Monkeyface Creek Falls, as I don’t see the resemblance of any type of primate. Maybe you can spot something I don’t.
The truck below which looks like an ant is my Tacoma. I actually flew higher than what you see in the shot below in order to capture all of the waterfall’s tiers.
After visiting Big Falls and Monkeyface Falls, drive literally only two minutes up the road to check out Frustration Creek Falls, another one of the four enormous cascades in the area. You won’t regret it!
