The 10 Best Cliff Jumping Spots in California

California has 42 documented cliff jumping spots on CliffScout, 35 of them community-verified. These are the standouts — ranked by verification, documentation, and community activity, not hype. Every listing links to a full page with photos, heights, and access notes.

1. 1

   No Hands Bridge Verified

   Auburn

   No Hands Bridge is the historic Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge (1912), a quarter mile downstream of where the North and Middle Forks of the American River meet in Auburn State Recreation Area. Reach it via Highway 49 south of… Full guide →

2. 2

   Burney Falls Verified

   Burney

   Burney Falls, in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park near Burney, CA (via CA-299 E then CA-89 N, about 6 miles from town), is one of California's most photographed waterfalls, fed partly by underground springs. Swimming and… Full guide →

3. 3

   Salmon Hole Verified

   Chico

   Salmon Hole is a Big Chico Creek swimming and cliff-jumping hole in Upper Bidwell Park, just downstream of Bear Hole, reached by a steep, unrailed climb down from the Yahi Trail that keeps it quieter than its neighbor. Water… Full guide →

4. 4

   Knights Ferry Verified

   Knights Ferry · jumps 40–100 ft

   Knights Ferry Recreation Area sits on the Stanislaus River beside the 1863 Knights Ferry covered bridge—the longest covered bridge west of the Mississippi—off Sonora Road near Oakdale, with a visitor center, parking, and… Full guide →

5. 5

   The Clam (La Jolla) Verified

   La Jolla

   The Clam is a real, well-known cluster of sea cliffs in La Jolla where the coastline curves into a clamshell shape; jumps here range from a roughly 35-foot ledge called The Point up to the approximately 107-foot Dead Man's Cliff.… Full guide →

6. 6

   The Clam (Dead Man's Cliff) Verified

   La Jolla

   Known locally as 'The Clam' — a shell-shaped sandstone cliff formation in La Jolla, with Dead Man's Cliff its tallest, most notorious jump (up to roughly 100 feet depending on tide). Access is via Coast Blvd near the Cave Store,… Full guide →

7. 7

   Middle Falls (McCloud River) Verified

   McCloud

   Middle Falls is the showpiece of the McCloud River Falls loop in Shasta-Trinity National Forest — a wide, ~50 ft curtain waterfall pouring into a large pool, a quarter-mile walk from the free Middle Falls day-use lot off Highway… Full guide →

8. 8

   McCloud Falls Verified

   McCloud · jumps 12–50 ft

   McCloud Falls comprises three waterfalls—Lower, Middle, and Upper—along the McCloud River in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, east of the town of McCloud off Highway 89. Free day-use parking lots and a riverside trail (about 3… Full guide →

9. 9

   Yuba River Verified

   Penn Valley · jumps ~50 ft

   This pin sits at Bridgeport in South Yuba River State Park, home of the 1862 Bridgeport Covered Bridge spanning the South Yuba River near Penn Valley. The park offers swimming and river access with parking at the North and South… Full guide →

10. 10

    Emerald Bay Verified

    South Lake Tahoe

    Emerald Bay State Park, on Lake Tahoe's southwest shore, has two named cliff-jumping pools along Eagle Creek above the bay, reached via the roughly 1-mile trail down to Vikingsholm or by boat into the bay itself. The lower pool… Full guide →

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