Is McArthur-Burney Falls Worth Visiting? Find Out!

Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls State Park is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in California. Here is how you can see it.

This summer we decided to check out one of the most beautiful waterfalls in California; Burney Falls at McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park. It is located in Northern California, in Shasta County.

Our original plan was to drive up to north and stay in a city called Redding, and then see which way we would go from there. However, we ended up staying in Redding the whole time and just did multiple day trips close by from there.

Visiting Burney Falls was one of the best of our day trips! And even though we have seen quite a few waterfalls on our trips, it jumped to the top ten. They are definitely worth a visit!

Burney Falls was just amazing! No wonder the President Roosevelt called it “the Eighth Wonder of the World”.

Visiting MCARTHUR-BURNEY FALLS MEMORIAL STATE PARK

We got a tip from locals to arrive to the falls in the morning hours since the parking is limited and it is a popular place to visit. Overcrowding has become a problem also at McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park especially during holidays.

However, while we were there many visitors just stopped quickly and then headed out, so new parking spots were opening all the time. We had no problems finding a spot.

McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park was established in 1926 and it was the second state park ever opened in California. There are also two other state parks close by but the one of them can only be reached by boat.

The park and the waterfall has been named after the pioneers Samuel Burney and McArthur family who moved to the area in 1850s. We can thank their grand kids for protecting the area and making sure it has not been built up.

The main attraction at the McArthur-Burney Falls Park is of course the waterfall itself. The fall is about 129 foot high (4 metres) and the water comes from various underground springs. It flows to Lake Britton nearby.

The parking lot here is very close to the waterfall so it is fairly easy to visit without doing any hiking. That makes it also convenient with small kids. But the little path going down in front of the falls has some steps so you might want to leave your stroller in the car.

There is a great viewing area in front of the falls but many people want to get closer to water to get great photos. Getting down to the water requires some balancing on slippery rocks as you can see from the pictures here.

I even saw a couple of girls swimming in the pool but water there was really chilly though and with all the rocks it didn’t look very safe.

During our visit we saw a handful of Black Swifts flying around the falls. They come over at spring times and build their nests on the rocks behind the falling water. Pretty amazing!

McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park has a visitor center, a camping site, public bathrooms and a general store. In front of the store they have a big picnic area where we stopped to eat some sandwiches we had brought with us.

Right before getting to the park we passed by a little town called Burney, and they seemed to had some restaurants and stores there. So you could always stop there for some food as well.

The Falls Loop Trail

From the waterfall we continued to a hiking trail which was easy to do even with kids. It followed a stream starting from the falls until it finally crossed over to the other side on a beautiful wooden bridge.

There wasn’t many people there which was great but I read that normally it can get quite crowded. There was some beautiful trees and moss covered rocks. Finally we saw the waterfall from the other side and then crossed another bridge to get back to the parking lot.

The trail is called the Falls Loop Trail and I highly recommend everyone to do it. It is only less than 1 mile (two kilometres) long but the views were great.

The park also has some other trails but at least some of them were closed this time due to some fallen trees.

Where should you stay at?

The closest place to find accommodation is Burney. They have few motels, like Green Gables Motel & Suites. Additionally, the McArthur-Burney Memorial Falls State Park has a campground with cabins, and RV and tent spots.

On our visit to McArthur-Burney Falls we stayed in Redding. The city of Redding is right along the I-5 when driving to north towards Oregon. Therefore we have used it as our base on our previous trips too.

Redding is a relatively small town so there isn´t tons to see in the downtown area. Its´ most known landmark is the Sundial Bridge close to McConnell Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. The arboretum is also a nice place to visit. There are also several lakes close by and Sacramento River goes right through the city.

But just a little warning about the summer months. It does get quite warm out there. When you are not used to the +40C (100F) weather for all day, you definitely start looking for an escape at the mountains or somewhere close to water.

We have usually stayed at Best Western Plus Hilltop Inn but Hampton Inn & Suites has also been great.

On this trip we ended up eating a lot of take away food and sandwiches, because we were constantly on the go. However, if you are looking for more like home cooked meal type food, we really like the Lumberjacks. Their menu had many delicious options for kids too. For a coffee the Dutch Bros Coffee is our absolute favorite!

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Last time our goal was to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park which is only about an hour drive from Redding. You could also combine a visit to the Burney Falls to a trip to Lava Beds National Monument.

Mount Shasta is close by, and it is a popular place among the hikers and campers. There is so much to see and do in this area.

We love visiting waterfalls. Other great ones in California are the McWay Falls along the Pacific Coast Highway and the Alamere Falls. They both fall to a beach which makes them special.

What are the most beautiful waterfalls you have visited?