Shadow Lake Falls

Shadow Lake Falls

Madera County, California

Description

Click to view photo(s)

Location

This is a series of drops along Shadow Creek that totals over 500' immediately below Shadow Lake in the Ansel Adams Wilderness. Most of the drops are on the order of 20' but there are a few that are much larger, including one that we were able to get a picture of (at left). The Shadow Lake Trail comes close to Shadow Creek as it nears Shadow Lake but the largest of the drops are further downstream and require some steep off-trail scrambling. You can also get a view of the entire series of cascades from across the valley on the High Trail (PCT).

Shadow Lake Falls: 37.69618 N, 119.12593 W

USGS Topo: Mammoth Mountain

Directions

Shadow Lake Falls can be accessed from the Shadow Lake/Ediza Lake Trail from Agnew Meadows (hike description here). Follow the PCT down to the River Trail and turn left onto the Shadow Lake/Ediza Lake Trail at ~2.3 miles. Cross the footbridge and start the climb toward Shadow Lake. After passing through a few small switchbacks and traversing to the south-southwest, a larger switchback is reached at ~3.05 miles. We accessed the large lower tier by walking off-trail and downhill from here to the south. This isn't recommended because of the steepness and crumply rock. Lower portions of the falls may be accessible from the trail immediately after the footbridge (would need to walk to the south or south-southwest) but we didn't try this. To access the rest of this waterfall keep hiking up toward Shadow Lake. The steepness and lots of brush prohibit much off-trail walking near the top of the waterfall but we were able to get a decent close-up view of the upper tiers with some effort. Travel at your own risk off-trail. To see the entire length of the waterfall, follow The High Trail from Agnew Meadows for ~2.75 miles (see hike description here).