One of California’s most beautiful waterfalls will be off limits all season

"High visitation" contributed to trail damage at the park.

Trail work will cut off all visitor access this spring and summer to Burney Falls, one of California’s most spectacular waterfalls.

A notice from McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park said the closure is expected to take effect at the start of April and continue “through the entire 2024 summer season.”

The project is to repair damage caused by storms and “high visitation.” The park saw a big jump in visitors during the pandemic, and Instagram publicity has kept the numbers high.

The park is about an hour’s drive northeast of Redding. The 129-foot-tall waterfall on Burney Creek was reportedly called “the eighth wonder of the world” by President Theodore Roosevelt.

A map from the park indicates the closed trails are the Falls Loop Trail, including Rainbow Footbridge, and Burney Creek Trail south of the Rim Trail. The nearby section of the Pacific Crest Trail will remain open.

Also during the summer, repairs on a nearby stretch of Highway 89 will cause delays and intermittent road closures, the park said.

The park’s campgrounds, visitor center, store and day use areas will remain open.