Volcano Creek
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| | Raps:9-18, max ↨100ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:Optional 1.4mi Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 7 Jun 2026
"Really fun canyon with cool waterfalls and slots. Good amount of jumps so used meat anchors to check depth, pools aren’t very clear. Natural anchors |
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| Best season: | May-Oct
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39.0205, -120.7857
39.0237, -120.7916
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WaterflowIntroduction
When you first get into Volcano Creek, you might think "What is this LA-ditch-canyon-nonsense?" But actually, it's good!
Narrow, sometimes deep, amazing colors, and lots of great jumps and rappels.
The publicly accessible hike out is something people will whine about. We're hoping to make contact with private property owners who own the adjacent road soon, so we can see if that's an option!
Approach
Hike down an old mining road. Thrash through a bit of blackberry bushes into the creek.
Descent
We did it at low flows, and everything was pretty self-explanatory. Rig off a pinch, horn, or tree, or send someone down on a meat anchor to test the depth for jumping.
Likely this canyon gets a lot more complicated in high water. It's narrow, and you end up rappelling in the flow, so probably 5cfs would be quite high in this canyon. 3 would be a little more moderate.
After having a lot of fun, the excitement slackens off, and you come to a bridge.
Exit
3 Queens Mine Road- Easier route: Get out of the creek at the bridge and hike up three queens mine road. This is an easement to the forest service and not actually trespassing. The road is sun exposed, but a consistent grade for the 1500 feet of elevation gain. You would not be able to drive a car down it. When you near mosquito ridge road, you can cut to the switchback shown on the map instead of continuing through the private property on the road. We only had one car so we left a bike here to go get the car at the end of the day which was definitely a better option than 1.7 miles on a hot road with no shoulder.
"Public Property Exit"- Harder route: (Good info above about the easement! Really no reason to hike out this way unless you love brush and poison oak. I guess for now the beta stays so everyone knows it could be worse) Get out at the bridge, hike up the old mining road on the right and then back down to the creek. The publicly accessible route takes you up the old road on river left, making a left turn quickly. This old road does not go all the way up, so follow the GPX track to see where to ditch it, and start hiking straight up the ridge. As the slope slackens off, you get into some annoying downfall. Then, on the ridge top, look for poison oak which starts to get a bit thicker and mixed in with stuff.