Water Depth
Falls pools must be checked for depth, submerged logs, and shifting rock.

Montgomery Creek, California, United States
DANGEROUS WATER CONDITIONS*
Hatchet Falls is a freshwater waterfall pool jump spot near Montgomery Creek, California. The reported height is up to about 60 ft, but access and landing conditions must be verified on site.
DANGEROUS WATER CONDITIONS: confirm legal access, depth, landing clearance, and a safe exit before treating Hatchet Falls as jumpable.
Overview
Hatchet Falls is a Hatchet Creek Falls jump area with tall reported ledges. Treat this guide as a planning overview, then verify access, water level, landing depth, and exits at the site before considering a jump.
Quick Answer
Hatchet Falls is a freshwater waterfall pool jump spot near Montgomery Creek, California. The reported height is up to about 60 ft, but access and landing conditions must be verified on site.
Key Takeaway
DANGEROUS WATER CONDITIONS: confirm legal access, depth, landing clearance, and a safe exit before treating Hatchet Falls as jumpable.
Quick Answer
Hatchet Falls is a freshwater waterfall pool jump spot near Montgomery Creek, California. The reported height is up to about 60 ft, but access and landing conditions must be verified on site.
Key Takeaway
DANGEROUS WATER CONDITIONS: confirm legal access, depth, landing clearance, and a safe exit before treating Hatchet Falls as jumpable.
Conditions and planning notes
Falls pools must be checked for depth, submerged logs, and shifting rock.
Check current access, parking, wildfire or road closures, and water conditions before visiting.
Walk in carefully, scout the landing from below, and avoid high ledges in early-season runoff.
Waterfall hydraulics, changing flow, slick rock, submerged debris, and limited rescue access are the main concerns.
Creekside ledges and logs can be slick, narrow, and unstable.
Scout with a partner, avoid jumping alone, and leave if waterfall hydraulics, changing flow, slick rock, submerged debris, and limited rescue access are the main concerns.
Map location
Montgomery Creek, California, United States
40.87516, -121.94166
Hatchet Falls sits around Montgomery Creek, California, United States, putting this waterfall or plunge-pool spot in the orbit of Montgomery Creek and the broader California area of United States. Use the saved coordinates and current map view as a starting point, then confirm the exact approach locally because cliff-jumping access can change around parks, private land, roads, shorelines, and water-management areas.
In warmer dry regions, summer heat, drought, flash flooding, and reservoir levels can change the usable water quickly. Conditions are not static: rain, snowmelt, drought, changing water levels, current, and weekend crowding can all change what looks like the same jump from one visit to the next. Treat saved route notes as background, not as a present-day clearance to jump.
The main assumed risks include cold or changing lake levels, submerged shelves, boat traffic, difficult exits, and limited rescue access. Even when the location appears open, access is separate from safety; a reachable ledge is not proof that jumping is allowed or sensible. Before anyone climbs to a ledge, inspect the landing zone from the water, identify the exit, look for submerged rocks or debris, and be willing to walk away if the depth, footing, legality, or rescue options are uncertain.
FAQs