Cliff Diving in California

Locations to Jump, Quarries, Safety Precautions

Cliff diving in California is a very popular sport. The locations listed on Thirst for Adrenaline are just a few of the locations for cliff diving in California. The cliff diving locations listed are to help guide you to a suitable place to jump. This means the areas listed throughout Thirst for Adrenaline currently or at one time have contained one or more locations which match the requirements (being deep enough, etc.) for cliff diving / cliff jumping. This may not hold true year round as water levels can recede. We cannot stress this point enough, always prepare and survey the area before cliff diving. Serious injuries can occur; even when you are prepared.

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Due to changing local laws regarding cliff diving locations, we ask that jumpers research the cliff diving areas independently to determine if jumping is legal before going. Never dive or jump at an illegal location. That area is illegal for a reason. The reason is generally due to the area being dangerous (a large occurrence of underwater rocks, high accident rate, inadequate water depth, water depth that changes frequently, etc.) or that it is private property. Many locations are now illegal due to their dangerous conditions.

Cliff diving (cliff jumping) is a dangerous sport and all precautions must be taken. Many people have died cliff diving; even from a low height. Others have altered the rest of their lives due to injuries obtained from cliff diving. Use common sense. Just because your friends dare you to jump is no reason to do so. That’s normally how serious injuries occur as one tries to out-do the other. You may think jumping from a higher cliff is cool but know that the higher you go you are increasing the risk of injury. It is never recommended to jump from a height of over 40 feet. Thirst for Adrenaline is not responsible for any injuries, legal issues, or anything else associated with your cliff diving experience. Thirst for Adrenaline only provides locations we learn about from various sources. We post necessary precautions throughout the cliff diving section and it’s up to the cliff diver to follow those rules.

Follow Safety Rules, Verify Legality, Be Careful & Have Fun Cliff Diving in California!

Cliff Diving Location:	City/County:	Is it Legal?:
Abolone Cove	Palos Verdes Estates, California	Not Verified
Angora Lakes	South Lake Tahoe, California	Not Verified
Cedar Creek Falls	Ramona, California	Not Verified
Dead Man’s Drop	Eureka, California	Not Verified
Gibralter Dam	Santa Barbara, California	Not Verified
God’s Bath	Sonora, California	Not Verified
Hermit Falls	Arcadia, California	Not Verified
Malibu Creek	Malibu, California	Not Verified
Man’s Jump	Thousand Oaks, California	Not Verified
McCloud Falls	Shasta National Forest	Not Verified
Mugu Rock	Point Mugu	Not Verified
Paradise Falls	Thousand Oaks, California	Not Verified
Rainbow Pools	Pine Mountain, California	Not Verified
Red Rock	Solvang, California	Not Verified
Rindge Dam	Malibu, California	Not Verified
Santa Paula Canyon (Punchbowls)	Santa Paula, California	Not Verified
Sunset Cliffs	San Diego, California	Not Verified
Tahoe National Forest	Foresthill, California	Not Verified
Tar Creek Falls	Goleta, California	Not Verified
The Port Hueneme Bridge	Port Hueneme, California	Not Verified
~~La Jolla Clam~~	La Jolla, California	No

There are most likely hundreds of locations for cliff diving in California and multiple locations within a specific area. Thirst for Adrenaline lists cliff diving locations that are popular. If we were to list every water hole, it would be extensive. Instead, we’d rather focus on areas that are worth your time as opposed to a small body of water which doesn’t offer the best landscape for cliff diving.

Are you familiar with an unlisted location which is suitable for cliff diving in California? Please recommend a location.

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Abolone Cove is located in Palos Verdes Estates, California. Palos Verdes Estates is located near Long Beach, California. This location offers beautiful ocean views with surrounding tide pools.

Angora Lakes are located in the Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe Watershed. During the summer, many visitors participate in water sports here. The cliff face at the upper lake is used as a jumping platform and is around 60 feet in height.

Cedar Creek Falls is located near Julian, California in San Diego County. It’s said to be the best waterfall in the area. It’s roughly 80 feet in height and is surrounded by rock walls.

Gibraltar Dam area is located in Santa Barbara County with GPS coordinates of Latitude: 34.5269389 and Longitude: -119.68708.

God’s Bath is located near Sonora and is an amazing swimming hole. The cliffs are about 20 feet high but that will all depend upon the water level. There is an area to sit behind the waterfall and swim through it. There is a pit about 4 feet wide that you can jump into then swim underwater beneath a rock bridge and appear in the main swimming hole.

Hermit Falls is located near Arcadia, California. The trail starts off as the same one to Sturtevant Falls but then splits off to the right. Sturtevant Falls isn’t the best for cliff jumping. Once at the falls, there are two main cliffs to jump from. One of them ranges between 10-15 feet and the other is around 50 feet.

La Jolla Clam is located in San Diego. It is north of Pacific Beach. For over one hundred years visitors have been cliff jumping here but sadly jumping is no longer allowed. Do not go cliff diving at the La Jolla Clam.

Malibu Creek State Park is located in the middle of the Santa Monica Mountains. Malibu Creek makes a quick turn through 400 foot volcanic rock cliffs and falls into a Rock Pool. This area is popular with moviemakers and has been the home to the set of “Swiss Family Robinson” and some Tarzan movies. The MASH television series set is also nearby.

Man’s Jump is located in Thousand Oaks, California. This is a little swimming hole.

McCloud Falls is located in Shasta National Forest. There are three falls: lower, middle, and upper falls. This area is great for swimming and cliff jumping.

Mugu Rock is located near Port Hueneme and Oxnard, California in Ventura County. It is a distinctive feature to the Pacific coastline. Mugu Rock is the end of the Santa Monica Mountains and the boundary to the old Rancho Guadalasca. It is a dangerous place for cliff diving due to the sheer sides of the rocks.

Paradise Falls is located in the canyons of Wildwood Park near Thousand Oaks, California. The waterfall is roughly 40 feet in height.

Rainbow Pools is located about 15 miles east of Groveland, CA along the south fork of the Tuolumne River. The pools are natural swimming holes which attract many swimmers and cliff jumpers each year.

Red Rock is located near Solvang, California. This place has been said to be one of the best cliff diving spots in the United States. Along with being a great location, it is also a very dangerous one as well.

Rindge Dam is located northeast of Malibu Canyon Road in Malibu Creek State Park. The dam is 100 feet in height. There is a deep pool located at the base of the dam which attracts cliff divers.

Santa Paula Canyon Falls (The Punchbowls) is multi-level waterfall complex which is a great location for cliff diving. The cliffs range in height from 10 feet to as high as 80+ feet.

Sunset Cliffs are located in San Diego, California. Sunset Cliffs offer spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, vistas, rock formations, caves and beautiful sunsets (hints the name). Special thanks to Gabriel Jackson for recommending Sunset Cliffs!

Tahoe National Forest is located in Northern California. The forest is 871,495 acres and spans across Sierra, Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Plumas and El Dorado counties. One area for cliff jumping is located near Foresthill, CA by Sailor Flat Trail and Beacroft Trail. Both trails are rated very difficult. Special thanks to Steven Anderson for informing us about this location!

Tar Creek Falls is located in the Las Padres National Forest.