Hedge Creek Falls facts for kids
Hedge Creek Falls is a beautiful waterfall located on Hedge Creek. You can find it in the Shasta Cascade area, near the town of Dunsmuir. One of the coolest things about this waterfall is a small cave right behind it. This cave lets visitors walk safely behind the falling water!
After the waterfall, Hedge Creek flows into the Sacramento River. This happens just south of another waterfall called Mossbrae Falls. There's also a special viewing platform near the river. From here, you can see the amazing Mount Shasta.
You can reach the waterfall and the viewing platform by taking a short hiking trail. The trail begins at a small park. This park is easy to find, right off the Dunsmuir Ave/Siskiyou Ave exit from Interstate 5. The waterfall is only about 0.2 miles (0.32 km) down the Hedge Creek Falls Trail. Because it's so close to Interstate 5, many travelers stop here to enjoy the view.
How Hedge Creek Falls Was Formed
Hedge Creek Falls sits at the very southern edge of an ancient lava flow. This lava came from Mount Shasta thousands of years ago, even before the Pleistocene Ice Age. Over many years, water freezing and thawing in cracks of the rock has shaped the waterfall's face. This process, called erosion, gave the falls its unique look.
The cave behind the waterfall is also a natural part of thick lava flows. It wasn't created by splashing water. The water that feeds Hedge Creek Falls comes from a huge underground water source called an aquifer. This aquifer was formed by several volcanic events. The water does not come from the glaciers found on Mount Shasta. Even though Hedge Creek Falls is small, it is very beautiful and impressive. Its single top edge looks a bit like its much larger "sister" waterfall, Bridalveil Fall, in Yosemite.
The Million Dollar Waterfall Story
When Interstate 5 was being planned, the original idea was to build the highway right over Hedge Creek Falls. But local people living nearby were very upset about this. They protested so much that they convinced the highway builders to move the road further into the hillside. This change cost about a million dollars! That's why Hedge Creek Falls earned the nickname "Million Dollar Waterfall."
Black Bart's Hiding Spot
A famous outlaw named Charles E. Bolton, also known as Black Bart, once robbed a stagecoach near Dunsmuir. This happened on October 25, 1879. Evidence found at the time suggested that Black Bart might have hidden in the shallow cave behind Hedge Creek Falls before the robbery. This was one of three robberies Black Bart committed in this area. Usually, he operated much further south.
