University Falls (aka Pilot Creek Falls) is a series of swimming holes outside the small town of Quintette, near Georgetown, CA. Although these falls are known to pretty much all of the locals, my first time hearing about this place was just last week when I joined a Meetup group who hiked up this weekend. This hike was fun because getting down to the river from the highway was a quick 2.5-3 miles downhill where you come out to find 4 sloping waterfalls cascading one after another into consecutive pools. I didn't get a chance to bring my camera with me on this one but I did bring my SCUBA mask and snorkel. Bringing those turned out to be quite useful because twice I had to retrieve glasses of people who had let them slip into the depths of the pools. Not only that but while I was checking out the 4th pool I found a digital camera and was able to rescue some pictures to show you off of the memory card:
The dates on these picture were from the 20th of last month so that camera had been down there for over 2 weeks. Kudos to SanDisk for making an indestructible flash card. Secretly I had hoped that the final photos would be of someone going over the falls or a group of people posing for a picture while a giant bear loomed in the backdrop. Sadly, it seems the camera merely slipped away while its owner was hopping rocks around the falls.
The granite at the site is smooth and makes for some great slides to ride into the pool. I suggest bringing some durable shorts as many were walking home with some worn out seats. Further downstream is some potential routes for you rock climbers & top ropers.
*DISCLAIMER* Although the waterfall itself is on public land, the trail leading to the falls crosses private property, owned by UC Berkeley and other private landowners (hence the name, University Falls). With so many people now coming to these falls, there is a serious environmental problem here. In addition to this, the water slides are quite dangerous, and people have died here. Please be respectful and do not trespass.
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