With the excitement of the SoCal superbloom, I knew I wanted to get outside and see some wildflowers last weekend! And with all the locals complaining about the onslaught of tourists at Walker Canyon, crazy traffic, and people stomping on poppies, I decided instead to invite my roommate and sister along to one of Malibu's most popular hikes instead. This delightful 3.8-mile hike (round-trip) is a very easy, do-able stroll from PCH all the way to Escondido Lower Falls. The first part of the hike involves walking along some sloping Malibu roads, but don't worry, you will eventually hit the main trailhead and then embark down into lush grasses dotted with wildflowers, butterflies, and poison oak (beware!). You can still see some burnt branches all along the trails from the Woolsey fires, but it is incredible to see how much the lush landscape has bounced back, particularly after these past couple month's heavy rains.
Along the trails you be met with two important things: lots of cute doggos, and a winding stream that you will have to cross several times. You can either jump over, walk along a tree branch, or wade through with appropriate shoes. During this time of year, the sides of the trail are coated in beautiful purple juniper flowers. When you get close enough to the lower falls, you can see the upper falls above as you near it. I wasn't expecting the waterfalls even to be all that raging, but oh my I was wrong! They were absolutely stunning! On a hot day, it is so refreshing to get to the waterfall and take a little shower underneath. Have your Malibu mermaid moment. There are so many photo ops here. Now... a word of warning... there used to be signs clearly telling hikers not to trespass and attempt to climb up to the upper falls. Unfortunately, these signs were burned away by the fires. I do not recommend going up to the upper falls and the main reason for this is this rock avalanches caused by hikers coming down the mountain. There is no trail to the upper falls, and it's a lot easier to go up then to come down because of how steep the mountainside is. As hikers scramble down, they cause rocks to fall below, endangering everyone enjoying the lower falls. As we were enjoying the waterfall, we saw these avalanches happen several times, and a ranger helping out telling people to get back and shouting at the people coming down the mountain to use a route further away from the lower falls. Basically, the lower falls is so beautiful there's no reason to be reckless and endanger everybody else by attempting to go farther up.
One thing I would totally recommend doing for this hike is bringing a picnic! We stopped at Ralph's on the way and brought some sandwiches with us. Once we enjoyed the waterfall and took all our photos, we found a lovely little picnic rock further downstream to relax for a little while and eat lunch. We enjoyed sitting there eating, listening to the mini-waterfalls rushing in the stream right next to us as little butterflies flitted around. It felt like summertime in March.
Overall, this hike is so much fun and well-worth the drive over to Malibu. Try to go in the springtime just after a recent rainfall to see the waterfall in all its glory, as well as enjoy the lush scenery & flowers. There is a small visitor lot for which you pay to park, but you can also park on the side of PCH for free, which is what we opted to do. This hike is very easy and not that long, so you don't need to be a fitness influencer to complete it. Put on sunscreen, pack your sandwich, and enjoy!
P.S. Hot tip - grab Sunlife nearby after your hike! This smoothie/acai bowl shop provides the ultimate sustenance to re-energize you after being out and about in the Malibu sun.
Wishing I could be there