Kitchen Creek

Kitchen Creek Canyoneering Canyoning Caving

Rating:	Log in to rateLog in to rateLog in to rateLog in to rateLog in to rate 3.0 (8 ratings)
‌	Difficulty:‌3B II (v3a2 II) Raps:‌4, max ↨60ft Metric Overall: 2-4h  ⟷1.4mi Approach:  ↓400ft Descent:  ⟷843ft  ↓197ft No Red Tape:‌ Shuttle:‌
Location:	32.7430, -116.4653
Condition Reports:	16 Mar 2025 "Took a couple small groups through and located all of the anchors. All anchors are DCL.. Replaced webbing on R1 and R2. R3 and R4 are in decent condit
Weather:
Best season:
Regions:	North America United States California Southern California San Diego

http://www.meetup.com/canyoneering/photos/13532952/#211508222,http://www.meetup.com/canyoneering/photos/20692292/#342910322

32.7430, -116.4653https://ropewiki.com/images/3/35/Kitchen_Creek.kmltopo

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Reference photos

15 Mar 2014: Low. Not as fun, but should be safe even for beginners (class B/C = a3). Picture by Chris Shannon

23 Feb 2008: Moderate. Challenging but not dangerous for intermediate canyoneers (class C1 = a4). Picture by [email protected]

30 Apr 2011: Extreme. Extremely dangerous high water, may be unsafe even for experts (class C4 = a7). Picture by Luca Chiarabini

4 Mar 2017: Extreme. Extremely dangerous high water, may be unsafe even for experts (class C4 = a7).

These reference pictures are used in the Waterflow analysis to predict current conditions. More reference pictures will produce a more reliable prediction.

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Introduction

This is a very short and easy technical descent, perfect for kids and newbies. When flowing well, it can be really fun and may even require use of wetsuits. With decent flow, this can be a great place to practice Class C techniques.

A good checkpoint to compare water flow is the bottom of the last rappel.

Approach

You can access from the bottom (2mi 650ft elevation gain) but a more direct route is to access from the top (1.1mi 350ft elevation loss). Either way, from the parking spot hike to the top of Kitchen Creek Falls and start the descent there.

Descent

If you hike in from the top, it's hot and the flow is good, you may consider getting in the stream earlier and have fun jumping the pools and downclimbing the lesser falls along the stream.

The waterfalls have been bolted with 4 x dual bolt stations. All bolted anchors are DCL. The descent is very short, so if you like the flow you may want to descend it twice to make the trip worthwhile or combine it with other technical canyons in the region.

Inexperienced canyoneers should clip into the anchor at R2 in order to mitigate slip hazard.

Exit

It's really good for novices because you can exit at any point in the descent by using a use trail at the side of the waterfall.

If you're parked on kitchen creek road, and not planning to use the Alternate Exit, take care to exit the canyon after the technical section. There is plenty of fun creek walking to do past the rappels, but it will take you further from your vehicle.

Trip reports and media

• Meetup Pictures March 2013
• Meetup Pictures March 2014

Credits

Kitchen Creek

Information provided by automated processes. KML map by (unknown). Main photo by (unknown). Authors are listed in chronological order.

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