Hiking into the Malibu Hills
This lovely place is just upstream of Rindge Dam and rather than having free parking it costs a lousy 5 bucks. The first pool is full of pissing babies and coliform is a real problem. It is also crowded with non cliff jumpers or people who like the 10 foot jump. The water also stagnates in mid-summer. The jumps here are low, the highest is only 40 feet. Although there is a 70 foot ledge above the 40 foot ledge it is a dangerous rock climb where there is no turning back and once you're up there it would be easier to miss the sweet spot than hit it. The sweet spot is right above a small boulder pile with a hole big enough for your legs in the middle. The water with the exception of this pile is the perfect depth at 14 feet but the boulders come up 4 feet in the center. The rest of the small pool is ringed by large boulders from 9 feet tall to 20 feet tall. I have hit the edge of this pool off of the 40 foot ledge and the moss on the rock saved my A*S! The next lowest cliff jump is 22-35 feet with one of the tightest bull's eyes I have ever seen. You have to jump out 5-10 feet but if you go to far you will bounce off the kickin' it rock. The 2 boulders on either side of the landing hole are 6 feet apart because you can touch them both at the same time. There is a little 10 foot jump in the center of the pool and like with most places it is the most popular jump there. F.Y.I. when you walk up to the swimming hole from the trail the big cliff jumps are across the pool even though you will see some idiots jumping off the other side sometimes. The cliffs by the picnic tables are 7 to 8 feet deep at their deepest and the bottom is bedrock not sand. What's the difference you ask Wet Sand is softer than your leg bones and bedrock is harder than your leg bones so which do you think will give first? second? third? A broken leg ruins everyone's day, especially those cliff jumpers who came with you.
The Rock Pool
Udell Gorge's climb up
The hike from The Rock Pool to Century Dam is one of the most accessable adventure hikes in Southern California. The trail is scarce and the scenery fantastic. There are caves all over the place and it is a favourite amoung rappellers and rock climbers. There are also more cliff jumps but they are all around 20 feet or lower. The only waterfall you see on this hike is pouring over the face of Century Dam and is impressive at 60 feet. The background is also one of the most famous SoCal film locations. It was owned by a big-time movie studio(Paramount I think) and has been all over the world so to speak. It was South Korea in the T.V. show M.A.S.H, you can even still see some old jeeps from when a wildfire destroyed the set. The B-movie Python was also filmed right here in Malibu Creek State Park, California.
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Cliff Jumping Spots!
Man's Jump | Malibu Creek Park