North Table Mountain Hike - Beatson & Phantom Falls Loop 5/23/20

I know I have been pretty bad about posting about the hikes I've done. It's been a while since I've posted any hikes, actually it looks like it's been a couple of years (4/2018 was the last time I posted a hike). :p Anyway, I'm hoping to get back into recapping some of the hikes we've done in 2020. The first one will be our hike at Table Mountain from back in May.

We had actually been to Table Mountain Ecological Reserve before in April of 2016. You can check out that blog post here. This time I was hoping to see the wildflowers but we were too late for the full bloom. However, it was still fun and we took a different route this time.

We got there early since we knew the parking lot can get full fast. We were there around 8:30am and did not have to worry about a parking spot since we were the second car there. Don't forget to purchase a CDFW Lands pass. You can easily purchase online before you go. I believe it was $5.00 and you can purchase it here.

The route we took was the Beatson and Phantom Falls Loop. We went the direction of Hallow Falls first.

Here we are at Hallow Falls. You do have to go off the main trail to get to the falls but it is a short detour. The water looked pretty similar to when we visited last time. Not a whole lot of water rushing down.

Then we continued onward. What I enjoy about the hike is how much the landscape changes. We did see some wildflowers and it made for some cool shots.

So pretty.

See the change in landscape?

The next falls we came across was Beatson Falls.

Some places there is no trail which is not convenient but luckily Hubby brought his Garmin GPS where you could plug in coordinates from signs like the one below so we had an idea of where to go.

So glad Hubby is good at navigating. :)

The next waterfall we came across was lower Ravine Falls. We were at the top of it here.

Here's a video looking back at the waterfall.

     

We kept on going till we finally got view of Phantom Falls. Not much water coming down.

Here's a video of the falls.

And of course a family selfie!

A shot of me and Hubby.

Next up was a short visit to Ravine Twin falls. It was neat to be right at the bottom of it.

Then we headed back to the car. 

What a day! According to my Garmin, the hike ended up being 7.7 miles total with 1,138 ft. elevation gain. Here's a map of the loop we did that I took from my Strava.

This was definitely a fun hike with lots to see. What I like most is how the terrain is so different. From creeks with wildflowers, to open fields, canyons, and waterfalls. It was neat to see 5 waterfalls on this loop trail. I would love to come back in time to see the wildflower super bloom. I've heard there are fields and fields of wildflowers. A great reason to come back!

Happy hiking!