Sorry tourists and TikTokkers.
Burney Falls, an isolated Northern California waterfall that became too Instagram-famous for its own good, will be closed all summer due to damage to trails and slopes caused by large crowds and erosion from recent storms , the California Department of Parks and Recreation announced Friday.
The main trails within McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park that provide access to the waterfall are expected to close on April 1.
The closures are expected to last through the summer and likely into the fall as crews repair and rebuild trails and natural slopes as part of an $835,000 project that will include installing retaining walls and guardrails, according to the parks department.
Located in rugged Shasta County, Burney Falls, a 129-foot wall of water that President Theodore Roosevelt once called the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” has been a local secret for much of its history.
But during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was a rush for outdoor recreation, visitors flocked to the falls and posted their selfies on Instagram, and the crowds came.
The waterfall, after all, generates its own rainbow. What do you think of #nofilter?
The state park, in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range about an hour east of Redding, normally saw about 250,000 visitors a year, but that number increased to 350,000 when the pandemic began, said Aaron Wright, the park's public safety chief. Northern Buttes District of the State Parks Department.
Visitors have repeatedly wandered off established trails, damaging plants and making erosion a problem, Wright said.
Both the Falls Loop Trail and Burney Creek Trail will be closed. Visitors will not have access to the waterfall or its pool area this summer.
Other parts of the state park, including the Rim and Pioneer campgrounds, the Burney Falls general store and the visitor center, will remain open, according to the parks department.
The Rim, PEA, Headwaters and Pioneer Cemetery trails will remain open, as will Fisherman's Bridge.
In addition to the work in Burney Falls, State Highway 89, one of the county's main thoroughfares, where traffic slows when waterfall crowds get too big, will undergo a “major rehabilitation” around the same time the highways are renovated. walking trails. repaired, according to the parks department.
The department's statement included a photo of a state park ranger writing citations for cars parked illegally along the road, next to a sign that says, in red letters, “NO PARKING AT ANY TIME.”
Construction of Highway 89, the statement said, “will significantly increase traffic congestion, delays and intermittent traffic closures near the park entrance.”
In other words: Think twice before coming.
