Jesse and Dean
Facing This!
This is a neat little cliff jump along Paradise Road running deep into the pristine Los Padres National Forest. It slopes out and the higher you go the more rock you have to clear. This place has been a local jumping spot for decades. It used to be called name rock but now it is called the Potholes. The sandstone cliff has been perfectly eroded to make it an easy climb for old and young alike. You might not want to jump from the upper Potholes unless you have the balls to run down the steep cliff and then jump before you run out of rock. It's an intense feeling to cliff jump like that but it gives you alot of forward momentum which is a great thing to have.
I gave myself 11 cracked ribs and a soft spot on my skull the size of my head. I climbed up to the highest pothole and jumped for it. I didn't think I was going to make it so a split second decision was made that a broken leg is better than a smashed body,, so I tried to "mule kick" the cliff right before I scraped my body over it. Long story short I cleared it, barely, but the momentum from my kick off-set my center of gravity so I ended up doing a belly flop.
This place is great for a quick cliff jump but there is no shade and we always head on over to the Red Rock Pool after about 20 minutes. Paradise Road is a cliff jumper's paradise, I have found five cliff jumping pools along this road and I haven't even hiked back to Gibraltor Dam yet. I would give you guys more info but finding your own swimmingholes is great fun and when you get to go cliff jumping at a "new" Go Rock Jumping, the adrenaline is always extreme.
Skorch, Flying High
Over the Water!!!
Oops!
View all of the
Cliff Jumping Spots!
The Punchbowls | The Paradise River Potholes