California
Fossil Falls
75 mi from Bakersfield · ~2.2 hr drive · Intermittent
No height recorded
Fossil Falls is a named waterfall in California — about 75 miles from Bakersfield, CA. Full visit details below.
- State
- California
- Nearest city
- Bakersfield, CA · 75 mi · ~2.2 hr drive
- Coordinates
- 35.9701°, -117.9088°
- Intermittent
- Yes — may run dry seasonally
From Wikipedia: The Fossil Falls is a unique geological feature, located in the Coso Range in Inyo County, California in the United States. Volcanic activity in the mountain range, along with meltwater from glaciers in the nearby Sierra Nevada, played a role in the creation of the falls. They are located near the community of Little Lake, 1.0 mi (1.6 km) off US 395 on Cinder Road to Red Hill, with signs to Fossil Falls. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Fossil Falls, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Visiting Fossil Falls
The exact location is at 35.9701°, -117.9088° — open in Google Maps for driving directions from your location.
Before you go: check current conditions with the appropriate land manager — state parks department, U.S. Forest Service ranger district, or National Park Service unit. Trail access, parking, water levels, and seasonal closures all vary. Several waterfalls in our database are seasonal and may run dry between mid-summer and the next rainy season.
If you've visited Fossil Falls and have current notes (parking situation, dog policy, seasonality, kid-friendliness), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn more.
Stay nearby
Driving in? The nearest documented metro is Bakersfield, CA — 75 miles away (~2.2 hr drive).
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Other waterfalls within 30 miles
Sources
Location and tag data for Fossil Falls comes from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL license) ; the Wikipedia article linked above provides additional history. We do not modify the underlying data — this page presents what's already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page or contact us.