Tip Toe Falls
Tip Toe Falls is a waterfall in California, at a modelled elevation of 151 m. Mount Bielawski stands 985 m to the east-southeast, 7.2 miles off. The nearest named place is Tan Oak Day Use Area, a picnic site 0.3 miles away.
The story
Tip Toe Falls (also known informally as Tiptoe Falls), is a 6-foot (1.8 m) tall waterfall (though commonly mismeasured from 5 to 8 feet (1.5 to 2.4 m)) on Fall Creek in the Portola Redwoods State Park, California. There is also an 8-foot (2.4 m) upper falls, a few hundred feet upstream, which is much lesser known. The falls, fed by Fall Creek (a tributary of Pescadero Creek) starts by cascading down a mossy, 8 foot (2.4m) upper tier into a small pool. The creek continues downstream between grassy banks, and before long, falls over the more well known, 6 foot (1.8 m) lower tier. The lower tier empties into a round pool approximately 6” deep, before the creek cascades over sticks and rocks and continues its way downstream.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q37752, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What to expect
- Step-free access
- No
How to reach it
Named places within 25 miles
- Tan Oak Day Use Area: 0.3 mi
- Madrone Day Use Area: 0.3 mi
- Choctaw Youth Camp: 4.5 mi
- Orchard Glen: 8.0 mi
- Cathedral Grove: 8.3 mi
- Page Mill Site: 2.0 mi
- Johansen Mill Site: 2.9 mi
- Dedication Circle: 4.1 mi
- Kobun Chino: 4.2 mi
- Otogawa Roshi: 4.2 mi
- Pescadero Creek County Park: 2.3 mi
- Upper Stevens Creek County Park: 4.7 mi
- Butano State Park: 5.4 mi
- Monte Bello Open Space Preserve: 5.7 mi
- Coal Creek Open Space Preserve (closed area): 6.0 mi
- China Grade: 2.5 mi
- Cowell Mountain: 3.8 mi
- Ocean View Summit: 4.1 mi
- Knoll: 4.2 mi
- Mindego Hill: 4.3 mi
- Towne Trail: 2.9 mi
- Castle Rock State Park. Red Mountain Day Use Area: 4.6 mi
- Castle Rock State Park. Old Corral Day Use Area: 4.6 mi
- Pandemonium Aviaries Sculpture: 9.4 mi
- Fujitsu Planetarium: 10.7 mi
- Stone Head: 3.2 mi
- Old Barn: 8.7 mi
- Praying Hands: 8.7 mi
- The Greatest in the Kingdom: 8.8 mi
- Dialogue: 8.9 mi
- The Cone Cult: 3.5 mi
- Coyote Bowl: 3.6 mi
- Heritage Grove Redwood Preserve: 3.6 mi
- La Honda Store State Historic Landmark: 5.7 mi
- Frog Pond Park: 8.1 mi
- Nature Circle: 4.1 mi
- Education Garden: 7.8 mi
- Community Garden: 7.9 mi
- Foothill Horticulture Garden: 9.1 mi
- Native Hill (California Native Habitat Garden): 9.2 mi
- David C. Daniels Nature Center: 4.8 mi
- Youth Science Institute Sanborn: 8.7 mi
- Ohlone Village: 8.8 mi
- Blacksmith Shop: 9.7 mi
- Environmental Education Center: 9.7 mi
- Whitehouse Creek Beach: 10.0 mi
- Cove Beach: 10.3 mi
- Arroyo De Los Frijoles Beach: 10.5 mi
- Sand Beach: 10.5 mi
- Pistachio Beach: 10.6 mi
- Bulls Spring: 3.6 mi
- Travertine Springs: 4.4 mi
- Spring source: 5.5 mi
- Congress Springs: 9.1 mi
- Summit Spring: 13.1 mi
- Peter's Creek Falls: 4.1 mi
- Gerow's Waterfall: 4.3 mi
- Sempervirens Falls: 4.7 mi
- Butano Falls: 5.3 mi
- Butano Falls: 5.3 mi
- Underworld Rock: 6.9 mi
- Lyme Disease Rock: 7.2 mi
- Graffiti Rock: 8.3 mi
- Waddell Bluffs: 10.7 mi
- China Ladder: 12.7 mi
- Felton Covered Bridge: 16.0 mi
- Felton Covered Bridge: 16.0 mi
- Santa Cruz Lighthouse: 23.2 mi
- Santa Cruz West Breakwater Light: 23.3 mi
- Natural Bridges Rock Arch: 22.6 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 12.6 miles of Tip Toe Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Bielawski | ESE 104° | 985 m | 7.2 mi |
| Castle Rock | ESE 102° | 979 m | 7.0 mi |
| The Peak | ESE 104° | 917 m | 8.5 mi |
| Lookout Tower | E 92° | 892 m | 6.1 mi |
| Goat Rock | ESE 103° | 890 m | 6.4 mi |
| Sunnyvale Mountain | ESE 105° | 880 m | 8.7 mi |
| Summit Rock | E 95° | 878 m | 6.7 mi |
| Varian Peak | ESE 102° | 873 m | 5.9 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:13 | 18:47 | 19:21 |
| June solstice | 05:50 | 19:54 | 20:33 |
| September equinox | 06:57 | 18:33 | 19:07 |
| December solstice | 07:20 | 16:15 | 16:56 |
Local time (America/Los_Angeles).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Nov.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 48 | 48 | 50 | 52 | 57 | 64 | 69 | 70 | 68 | 61 | 52 | 47 |
| Precip in | 7.8 | 8.0 | 6.3 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 4.6 | 8.4 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Skyline Ridge Preserve, 5 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: Dec–Apr — fullest in Feb, leanest in Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 111 | 127 | 96.3 | 53.1 | 18.1 | 8.8 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 10.5 | 55.3 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Pescadero C NR Pescadero CA, 6 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/4227636244
Day trips start here
- Santa Cruz · 22 mi
- Capitola · 24 mi
- Aptos · 25 mi
Take the scenic way to Tip Toe Falls.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.