California · Documented attraction
Phantom Falls
71 mi from Sacramento · ~2.1 hr drive · Intermittent
164ft tall
≈ 50 m
≈ 50 m
Intermittent waterfall at North Table Mountain. There is a shallow cave behind it at the bottom of the canyon, and an abandoned mine shaft that has been filled in.
- State
- California
- Nearest city
- Sacramento, CA · 71 mi · ~2.1 hr drive
- Height
- 164 ft (50 m)
- Coordinates
- 39.6105°, -121.5607°
- Listed as
- Tourist attraction (OpenStreetMap)
- Intermittent
- Yes — may run dry seasonally
From Wikipedia: Phantom Falls or Coal Canyon Falls is a waterfall at Coal Canyon near Oroville, California, within the North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve. The waterfall is 166 feet (51 m) high and runs off the edge of Coal Canyon, in front of a grotto. A small pool at the bottom is home to a California newt subspecies, the Coastal Range newt. As a seasonal waterfall, Phantom Falls runs only during the rainy months, late autumn to early spring. It is named Phantom Falls because it disappears during the dry season. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Phantom Falls, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Visiting Phantom Falls
The exact location is at 39.6105°, -121.5607° — 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 Phantom 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 Sacramento, CA — 71 miles away (~2.1 hr drive).
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Other waterfalls within 30 miles
Little Phantom Falls
0 miles from Phantom Falls · 124 ft
Ravine Falls
0 miles from Phantom Falls · 76 ft
Ravine Twin Falls
0 miles from Phantom Falls · 20 ft
Ravine Twin Falls
0 miles from Phantom Falls · 46 ft
Lower Ravine Falls
1 miles from Phantom Falls · 40 ft
Little Hollow Falls
1 miles from Phantom Falls
Sources
Location and tag data for Phantom 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.