Black Mountain–Gerow's Waterfall, 10 sights is a 15.4-mile out-and-back in Monte Bello Open Space Preserve near Vista Verde, CA. The route passes Two Moon Lake, Gerow's Waterfall, Bodhidharma Cave and Black Mountain before reaching Monte Bello Road (Trail) Viewpoint at the turnaround, 7.7 miles in. It climbs 3,339 ft, with sections as steep as 20% grade. It scores 31/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.
Elevation
0 mi1,289 – 2,815 ft · steepest grade: 20%15.7 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 37.27441, -122.15025
Nearest town Vista Verde, CA
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Black Mountain–Gerow's Waterfall, 10 sights
15.4 mi · ▲ 3,339 ft · 6 hr 48 min
Elevation 1,291–2,814 ft
Out & Back · Monte Bello Open Space Preserve
Trailhead: 37.27441, -122.15025
Weather Aug 4: Clear, high 90°F / low 68° · precip 0% · wind 6 mph · sunrise 6:16 AM · sunset 8:14 PM
No dogs on part of this route · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading NW.
- 50 ftPass Two Moon Lake.
- 100 ftPass Gerow's Waterfall.
- 1 miPass Bodhidharma Cave.
- 450 ftContinue straight onto Long Ridge Trail, heading N.
- 200 ftContinue straight onto Portola Heights Road, heading NW.
- 0.1 miBear right onto Long Ridge Trail, heading N.
- 150 ftContinue straight onto Portola Heights Road, heading NE.
- 100 ftContinue straight onto Long Ridge Trail, heading N.
- 0.4 miTurn left onto Peters Creek Trail, heading SE.
- 0.5 miTurn right onto Grizzly Flat Trail South, heading NE.
- 1 miContinue straight onto Grizzly Flat Trail, heading N.
- 1.1 miTurn left onto Canyon Trail, heading E.
- 2 miBear right onto Indian Creek Trail, heading NW.
- 1 miContinue straight onto Old Ranch Trail, heading NE.
- 100 ftContinue straight onto Indian Creek Trail, heading NE.
- 0.2 miBear right onto Monte Bello Road (Trail), heading E.
- 0.2 miPass Monte Bello Road (Trail) Viewpoint.
- 150 ftTurn right, heading S.
- 50 ftReach Black Mountain, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.2 miBear left onto Indian Creek Trail, heading NW.
- 0.2 miContinue straight onto Old Ranch Trail, heading W.
- 100 ftContinue straight onto Indian Creek Trail, heading SW.
- 1 miBear left onto Canyon Trail, heading NW.
- 2 miTurn right onto Grizzly Flat Trail, heading SE.
- 1.1 miContinue straight onto Grizzly Flat Trail South, heading SE.
- 1 miTurn left, heading SW.
- 0.4 miBear left onto Peters Creek Trail, heading W.
- 450 ftTurn right onto Long Ridge Trail, heading SE.
- 0.4 miContinue straight onto Portola Heights Road, heading N.
- 100 ftContinue straight onto Long Ridge Trail, heading NW.
- 150 ftBear left onto Portola Heights Road, heading N.
- 0.1 miContinue straight onto Long Ridge Trail, heading SW.
- 1.1 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
28% dirt3% gravel69% unspecified
Weather
ClearTemperature 90°F68°
Precip0%Wind6 mphUV8Humidity29%
Hourly temperature
90°65°
Sunrise 6:16 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 8:14 PM
Tue
86°67°
Wed
87°53°
Thu
93°50°
Fri
96°55°
Sat
96°57°
Sun
96°52°
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 1.0 mi in (~27 min). Leave by 7:27 PM for the 8:14 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:59 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.
Good to know
- No dogs on part of this route
- Parking lot at the trailhead
Other ways to reach this destination
More from this trailhead
- Turtle Rock–Gerow's Waterfall, 3 summits 2.7 mi · ▲ 409 ft
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