Brandy Creek Falls: Upper Fall
Brandy Creek Falls are a series of cascading waterfalls in the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity NRA, an area famous for pristine nature. Despite its convenient location, many people shy away from the hike and chose to relax at the lake instead. The trail is not crowded and the waterfall offers many good angles. On weekdays you stand a good chance of having the falls to yourself and even on weekends you will not need to wrestle crowds for space.
The pleasant uphill hike leads through forests and over small creeks with temperatures far below the searing heat of the Central Valley.
How to get there
Brandy Creek Trail
From the Whiskeytown Visitor Center, take Kennedy Memorial Drive towards the Dam. Cross the dam and keep driving until you reach Brandy Creek Road. Take the Brandy Creek Road to the LEFT (not the Brandy Creek road to the right, but about 100m (330ft)further and left). The road turns into a well maintained dirt road which you can easily pass with a 2WD sedan. Stay left on all forks until you get to the end of the road near a small parking area after about 3 miles. There will be several signs for “Brandy Creek Trail” along the way. Ignore them!
Trail Altitude Profile (250m vertical scale)
The altitude difference between the lowest and the highest point on the trail is about 250m of elevation (800ft). The hike is just under 3 miles in distance.
Stop at the Whiskeytown Visitor Center to get a trail description or download it here. It includes a confusing topographic map and some useful information.
GPS position
Parking:
Uppermost Fall:
How to photograph Brandy Creek Falls
Brandy Creek Falls, Lower Cascade
The main fall at the end of the trail is hard to photograph. Trees obstruct the your view with no clear path leading to the base of the falls. You have to wade through the cold stream and climb wet rocks for a better angle (see above). From up there you can shoot the main falls plunging into a small pool surrounded by rocks.
Brandy Creek Falls consists of a number of cascades. Keep going uphill until you can see the main fall dropping vertically. Slowly work your way back down the trail, setting up your tripod at different locations. Look for unique compositions. The cascades can be more photogenic than the falls. Overzealous photographers focusing purely on the upper falls will miss some excellent opportunities. Take your time to shoot the cascades. Play with filters and exposure until you are happy. Cascades look especially beautiful when you slow down your exposure to 1/4s or longer. Without an ND filter or CP filter this will be impossible to accomplish on bright sunny days.
About a quarter mile from the Upper Falls a sign will point to the Lower Falls. To photograph them you need to climb down into a ravine, which seems hardly worth the trouble considering the many different options you have at the Upper Falls alone.
According to the trail guide you should be looking for American dipper and Great Blue Herons diving for fish. I have had no such luck, maybe because a group of boy scouts left upon my arrival.
Best Time of the Day and Best Season
The best season for photography is during the fall when the foliage is colorful and the flows are not as heavy. The falls still look good in spring though. Any time of the day should be good, although the dusk will let you slow down your exposure more. Waterfall photography is always best on overcast days (exclude the sky), but in this part of the world you rarely get that.
Time required
The hike takes about 90 minutes to 2 hours round trip (3.5 miles uphill). At the falls you can easily spend one hour photographing the cascades and making your way to the upper falls.
Equipment
- Wide-angle lens
- CP filter
- ND filter
- Tripod and Cable Release
- Hiking Shoes
- Mosquito repellant
- Water or Water Purifier
- GPS
- Towel
Fees
The entrance fee to the entire Whiskeytown recreational lake site is $5. They also accept any of these:
- Interagency National Park Passes
- Lassen Volcanic Annual Pass
- America the Beautiful Annual, Senior, or Access Pass
- Golden Age, Access Passports
Display your pass behind your windshield with the signature and the date visible.
Difficulty Getting There
The trail is mostly uphill, but even with all your gear it should be relatively easy if you are moderately fit. I had to wade through fast flowing icy cold water to get to the upper falls and climb barefoot over slippery rocks and forest floors. During the late spring the fast flowing cold water made it tough. I used my shirt to dry my feet on the way back. Bring a towel, save a shirt.
Close Locations
- Whiskeytown Lake
- Whiskeytown Falls
- Boulder Creek Falls
- Shasta State Historic Park
- Lake Shasta
- Shasta Dam
- Trinity Alps
- McArthur Burney Falls
- Lassen Volcanic NP
Useful Resources
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3 Comments
I bet that water felt pretty awful at first. It’s nice that there are pristine places fairly easily accessible that are not clogged with tourists. Looks like a great hike.
Brandy creek falls looks like a good place to visit and great photo’s
Wonderful place! Hidden waterfalls, far from tourists are the best, there you can feel intensly the energy of nature and the sounds of nature. Nice article again!