Cedar Creek Falls Trailhead (San Diego River Gorge)
Check the closure before anything else — this area was closed when we last looked. Forest Order #02-26-14 closed the San Diego River Gorge / Cedar Creek Falls area on July 14, 2026, and on our July 20, 2026 check it was still posted with no end date. Heat orders here come and go, so verify on the Cleveland National Forest alerts page the morning you go.
When it is open, the thing people get backwards: parking at the trailhead (15519 Thornbush Rd, Ramona) is free — no Adventure Pass, no kiosk. The $6 Recreation.gov permit buys entry to the falls area, covers the holder plus up to four others, is not sold at the trailhead, and there's no usable cell signal to buy it there. Rangers check.
The facts
- Trail served
- San Diego River Gorge Trail to Cedar Creek Falls (~6 mi RT; ~1,800 ft of climbing on the way back out)
- Cost / pass
- Parking: free. Entry permit: $6 per permit (holder + up to 4 others) via Recreation.gov — required, not sold on site
- Lot size
- Small — hiker reports describe roughly a dozen marked spaces; no official count published
- When it fills
- Cool-season weekend mornings are the crunch; in summer the area is often closed outright rather than crowded
- Overflow option
- None sanctioned — and with a permit cap, an overflow lot wouldn't help anyway
- Tow / citation risk
- Thornbush Rd is a residential street in Ramona; don't improvise on it. Citations are for missing permits, not parking
- Restrooms
- Yes
- Road to the lot
- Paved suburban streets through Ramona to the Thornbush Rd trailhead
- Busy season
- Fall, winter and spring. The Forest Service actively discourages this hike above 90°F
Getting there
15519 Thornbush Rd, Ramona, CA 92065
Get directions →The confusion that ruins people's mornings
Two separate things get collapsed into one here. Parking at the San Diego River Gorge trailhead is free — the Forest Service's own trail page and the Recreation.gov listing both describe the $6 charge as a visitor use permit to enter the Cedar Creek Falls Permit Area, and neither lists this trailhead as an Adventure Pass fee site. Some third-party blogs tell you to display an Adventure Pass on the dash. No official source we could find says that.
The reverse mistake is worse: showing up with the intention of paying at the trailhead. Permits are sold online only, at recreation.gov/permits/234735, and there is no meaningful cell signal at the trailhead to buy one. Book it at home, screenshot or print it, and expect a ranger to ask. $6 covers the permit holder plus up to four more people — it's per permit, not per person, and not per car.
Summer is the real gatekeeper
This canyon has killed people. The trail drops about 1,800 feet in the first two miles, which means the hard part is the exit, in full sun, in the afternoon. The Forest Service's guidance is blunt: hiking is highly discouraged when the trailhead is above 90°F, and the District Ranger issues temporary closure orders for the duration of high-heat events — when that happens, Recreation.gov cancels affected reservations with a full refund.
That isn't hypothetical. Forest Order #02-26-14 closed the San Diego River Gorge / Cedar Creek Falls area effective July 14, 2026, and as of this page's July 20, 2026 check the order was still posted on the Cleveland National Forest alerts page with no end date listed. Recreation.gov was also flagging that water levels had dwindled and the pools were stagnant. Summer here is not a season with bad parking; it's a season with no access. Check Cleveland NF alerts before you buy a permit, and call the Palomar Ranger District at (760) 788-0250 if you want it confirmed by a human.
The lot itself
Small, at the end of a residential street in Ramona, with a toilet just above the parking area and a water spigot behind it. No official capacity is published, so we won't invent one — hikers consistently describe roughly a dozen marked spaces, which is modest but not the binding constraint. The daily permit cap is. Reporting from the launch of the reservation system, and hiking guides since, put it at 75 permits per day; the Forest Service's current public pages state the $6 price without restating the cap, so treat 75 as well-sourced but unconfirmed on the official page.
Practically: if you hold a permit for the day, a space will almost certainly exist. If you don't hold a permit, an empty space does you no good.
Plan B
If the area is closed for heat, or the day's permits are gone, don't drive out and hope. Three Sisters Falls is the closest same-flavor alternative — same forest, same waterfall payoff, no permit and no fee, and a rebuilt trailhead with far more parking. It carries the identical summer heat problem and its own closure orders, so check the same alerts page.
If you want a genuinely heat-proof backup, go coastal instead: Torrey Pines is 90 minutes west and about thirty degrees cooler. And if the goal was really "a hard San Diego County climb," Mt. Woodson is closer to town with no permit at all.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to pay to park at Cedar Creek Falls?
No. Parking at the San Diego River Gorge trailhead on Thornbush Road in Ramona is free. The $6 charge people associate with Cedar Creek Falls is a Recreation.gov visitor-use permit to enter the falls area — a separate thing from parking, and required whether or not you drove.
How much is the Cedar Creek Falls permit and what does it cover?
$6 per permit, which covers the permit holder plus up to four additional people (five total). It is purchased online at recreation.gov, is not sold at the trailhead, and does not include or substitute for anything parking-related. Rangers check permits on the trail.
Do you need an Adventure Pass at Cedar Creek Falls?
No official Forest Service or Recreation.gov source lists the San Diego River Gorge trailhead as an Adventure Pass fee site — the required document is the $6 Recreation.gov permit. Some third-party guides claim otherwise; the official sources do not.
Is Cedar Creek Falls open in summer?
Often not. The Cleveland National Forest closes the San Diego River Gorge / Cedar Creek Falls area during high-heat events, and such an order was in effect from July 14, 2026. The falls also typically stop flowing in summer, leaving stagnant, algae-filled pools. Fall through spring is the season to go.
Can you buy the Cedar Creek Falls permit at the trailhead?
No. Permits are online-only through Recreation.gov, and there is not enough cell service at the trailhead to buy one on your phone. Book before you leave home and bring a printout or screenshot.
Facts on this page last verified July 20, 2026. Fees, hours, and access rules change seasonally — confirm with the official source before a long drive.