#1 Paradise Falls Thousand Oaks, California.
Paradise Falls at scenic Wildwood Regional Park in the Thousand Oaks area of Ventura County drops 40 feet into a large pool along the Arroyo Conejo in the canyons of Wildwood Park near Thousand Oaks. To hike up Wildwood Canyon Trail above the falls, turn right toward Indian Cave. This stretch of Wildwood Canyon Trail borders the creek and passes through a shaded picnic area.
Almost as famous as Wildwood Regional Park are some of the classic films that claimed it's scenic backdrop including, Wuthering Heights, The Rifleman, The Grapes of Wrath, Bonanza, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Shenandoah, and How the West Was Won.
Eaton Canyon Trail is a 3.5 mile, 500-foot elevation gain, heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Pasadena, California that features a 40-foot waterfall tumbling into a round mirror-pool that you can rest alongside or wade in waist-deep water. Several waterfalls also exist above Eaton Falls, which are more secluded.
At the beginning of the Civil War, Benjamin Eaton brought his upper-class bride, Alice, to live in California just before the Civil War. Watch the story of an 1800s Visionary produced in 2006 by the Altadena Foothills Conservancy and Art Center College of Design Productions, Eaton's Water.
#3 Switzer Falls La Canada Flintridge, California.
Switzer Falls, located in the upper Arroyo Seco Canyon above Pasadena is one of the more popular waterfall hikes in L.A. This 4.5-mile hike through the Arroyo Seco, chaparral forest follows a shaded creek down into a wooded canyon and features some nice cascades, waterfalls, and swimming holes. The 50-foot waterfall, Switzer Falls, is reached via a 4.5-mile out-and-back trek on Gabrielino Trail decending 650 feet from Switzer Picnic Area to the stream below Switzer Falls.
In the 1920s, Switzer-Land Resort was in full swing in Angeles National Forest, accessed by horse and carriage up the mountain and by mule along the Arroyo Seco River. Movie stars and others considered it fashionable to spend weekends at the 20-room resort, built-in 1884 by Commodore Perry Switzer.
