North Table Mountain North Loop

Photos Maps Summary: North Table Mountain is a great place to see many waterfalls and colorful wildflowers in early Spring. Unfortuantely, this also means that you will not be alone on a sunny day. Fortunately, most of the people venture only a little ways away from the parking lot to lounge or fly kites or only to hike to Hollow Falls and back. If you plan on hiking here at minimum bring a map and compass (and know how to use them) as there are very few landmarks and no established trails. If you have a GPS, then that would work perfectly.Distance: 6.5 miles totalElevation Gain/Loss: 750' totalSeason: March to May (for wildflowers & waterfalls)Fees & Permits: None for dayhikersFinding the Trailhead: 39.5957 N, 121.5417 W (official parking lot for the North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve). From the middle of the CA-70 bridge over Lake Oroville, follow CA-70 to the southwest for ~1.6 miles and turn left onto Cherokee Road. Follow this road as it weaves its way south towards North Table Mountain for ~5.8 miles to the trailhead parking area (just after climbing up the hill).

The Hike: Heading W from the parking area and following a small stream you reach Hollow Falls after ~0.7 miles. We stayed on the northern side of the creek so that we did not have to re-cross the creek to head north towards Phantom Falls. After briefly enjoying Hollow Falls, we headed N towards a viewpoint for Phantom Falls. About 0.7 miles from Hollow Falls we crossed the creek that leads to Ravine (aka Fern) Fall. We continued to the NW and after ~0.6 miles we arrived at the distant viewpoint of Phantom Fall on the southern side of the northern arm of Coal Canyon. On this day a few wind gusts were blowing the falls from one side to another. Next, we followed the rim of the canyon NE and crossed the creek above Little Phantom Fall after ~0.2 miles. We then headed W to view Little Phantom Falls from the N which was only barely flowing on this day. Next, we followed the rim of the canyon again to the NE all the while having great views of Phantom Falls to the NE. About 0.15 miles from Little Phantom Falls we crossed the creek above Phantom Fall and headed NW towards Hidden Falls. After passing a couple of men “just wandering” we didn’t see another person until we came back to Ravine and Ravine Twin Falls. After another ~0.6 miles we arrived at viewpoint to the S of Hidden Falls. However, the waterfall was obstructed by some trees so we headed down and crossed the creek above the falls and circled around to the N and found a wonderful, small grassy area right in front of the falls (to the W). We decided to have lunch at this spot amongst a few Lupine and Indian Paintbrush while dangling our feet over the side of the ravine (be careful if you go to this spot as the ravine seems to start out of nowhere and has a virtual 90 degree slope).