The Lewis Creek Trail leads to two lovely waterfalls that are quite different in their size. Red Rock and Corlieu Falls start at the Lewis Creek Trailhead at 4,000 feet above sea level with a gradual 300 foot elevation gain.
Corlieu Falls is an 80 foot (25 meter) fall that cascades into a narrow canyon. It will take 15 to 30 minutes to get to Corlieu Falls. It's a half-mile round trip. Further up the way is Red Rock Falls, a 3 mile round trip from the trailhead. Red Rock Falls is much shorter at about 20 feet (6 meters), but it is much wider and powerful. It will take between 1 and 2 hours to reach the Red Rock Falls along the trail. The trail to both falls travel next to Lewis Creek, which includes ferns, mossy rocks, evergreens and dogwoods. It's a local favorite and is often less crowded than other nearby trails.
Both of these hikes are easy to moderate with some elevation gain. The Corlieu Falls trail also includes a fairly steep & slippery descent down to the falls, if you choose to go to the bottom.
The Lewis Creek trailhead is located on highway 41, seven miles (11 km) south of Yosemite's southern entrance, and 7.5 miles (12 km) north of the intersection of highways 41 and 49 in Oakhurst.
Comments
Corlieu Falls is beautiful and the pool below it is suitable for a dip. The trail down is narrow and steep, but well worth it.
3/29/17 - If you want to hike to Red Rock Falls, right now it's necessary to start at the Sugar Pine trailhead. The bridge that used to span Lewis Creek just beyond the Hwy 41 trailhead was taken down 2 years ago and has not been replaced. The creek is flowing too high and fast to safely cross right now. The trail from Sugar Pine to the old creek crossing is especially beautiful in spring, with lots of dogwood and other wildflowers.