Mossbrae Falls

If you are ever in the northern part of California, you should pay a visit to Mossbrae Falls! This waterfall is unique in that the hike to it is on a railroad track. Located in Dunsmuir, California, this was a great stop after visiting Burney Falls.

Hike Overview

Length: About 3 miles roundtrip
Difficulty: Easy
Dog Friendly: Yes (but may be rocky)
Parking: You will need to find street parking. We parked on Dunsmuir Ave.

Restrooms: None

This hike is technically illegal because it can be dangerous if you walk on the railroad tracks and a train passes by. However, a lot of people still go on this hike. Just make sure to pay attention if there is a train and don’t walk on the tracks!

Directions

The entrance to the Mossbrae Falls trail is on Scarlet Way. You will be walking alongside the railroad tracks the entire way.

Mossbrae Falls

We decided to do the Mossbrae Falls hike because we were already in the area (after Burney Falls) and saw it on pinterest haha.

It was a hot day so make sure to put on sunscreen and bring a lot of water! The hike/walk itself is not hard but you will need to wear comfortable shoes.

I’ve never walked on railroad tracks or even along side one before so this was interesting to say the least.

If you do bring kids or your pets, just be careful of the edges. It is also pretty rocky and hard to walk on if you walk on the rocks.

You will walk following the railroad tracks for about 20 to 30 minutes. It took us 30 minutes at a casual pace. Since we visited during the afternoon, it was pretty crowded so make sure to wear a mask if you can’t keep at least 6 feet away from others.

Keep walking until you see this rock with “Mossbrae” written on it. It’s faint but there is also an arrow pointing you in the right direction.

You don’t need to walk through here but it is a good photo spot.

When you see the rock, go towards the right and you will see a path leading down to the falls.

We didn’t bring our swimsuits or anything so we didn’t go into the water but other people did. We spent about an hour here enjoying the scenery and taking photos.

There was another area that you can climb up on to get a higher vantage point.

The walk back to the car had a nice surprise – a train actually passed by! We first felt the tracks vibrating and that’s when we realized a train was about to pass. Make sure to not be on or near the tracks as it passes.

Overall, this was a relatively effortless hike to a rewarding end. The only thing we would probably change is visiting earlier so there would be less people.