Most mornings there are still three or four cars nosed into the gravel at the Fern Canyon trailhead by eight, engines ticking, dogs bouncing in the back seat before anyone's found a leash. Some of those hikers walk fifty yards in, read the sign at the creek crossing, and turn straight back around. The lower stretch of the Fern Canyon Trail, the one that starts at the campground day-use lot and follows Russian Gulch Creek toward the waterfall, is closed for renovation, and it has been for a while now. California State Parks says as much on its own Russian Gulch page: a portion of the trail is shut, running from that trailhead to the junction with the Falls Loop Trail.
What the sign doesn't say, and what most of the trail apps people pull up on their phones don't say either, is that the waterfall itself is still reachable. You just can't walk to it through the front door.
What the closure actually covers
It helps to know exactly where the line is. The closed section is the lowest, flattest stretch of Fern Canyon, the two-mile creekside stroll that most first-time visitors think of as the whole hike. It ends at the Falls Loop junction, which is also the last stretch before the waterfall itself. Everything past that junction, including the 36-foot falls tucked into redwoods and moss that Russian Gulch is known for, is open.
This isn't the trail's first closure. In 2019 the trail was posted closed after downed trees came across it, a closure that came down to debris on the path. That one cleared on its own timeline. This one is different. The state's own listing frames it as a renovation, not a storm cleanup, which usually means it stays posted longer and doesn't resolve itself with a chainsaw crew and a slow week. If you're planning around it, treat this closure as the kind that outlasts a season, not the kind that clears after the next dry stretch.
The door around the back
The workaround is the North Trail, and it's the reason regulars haven't actually stopped doing this hike, they've just stopped starting it at the campground lot. Instead of parking at the Fern Canyon trailhead, you pick up the North Trail from its own separate access point and follow it up and over, through darker canopy under cedar and fir, before it drops down to meet the Falls Loop Trail on the far side of the closure. From there it's the same final stretch to the same waterfall everyone's been walking to for decades.
It's a longer day than the classic route. The full North Trail and Fern Canyon loop runs about 6.6 miles with roughly 860 feet of elevation gain, closer to three hours than the ninety minutes the old creekside walk used to take. You trade the flat, easy amble along the creek for climbing and descending through forest, which is its own kind of good trade this time of year. Shaded canopy means the afternoon sun isn't a factor, and the extra mileage tends to thin out the crowd that would otherwise be stacked up at the falls by midday.
If you're headed out for this one, park at the North Trail access rather than the day-use lot by the campground. Showing up at the usual spot and discovering the detour on foot burns time you could've spent on the trail instead.
If you just want the short version
Not every day calls for a three-hour loop, and Russian Gulch has options that don't route anywhere near the closure. The Headlands Trail on the park's coastal side is a different hike entirely, an hour or so along cliffs above Devil's Punchbowl, the collapsed sea cave the park is equally known for, with picnic tables near the Panhorst Bridge if you want to sit and watch the water for a while before heading back. None of it touches Fern Canyon, so the renovation doesn't factor in at all.
Dog owners have their own reason to route around Fern Canyon regardless of the closure. Dogs aren't allowed on the waterfall loop, closure or no closure, which is one more argument for saving that hike for a solo morning or a friend without a leash to manage. Big River Beach and the Big River Trail, just south in Mendocino Headlands State Park, are among the small handful of dog-friendly exceptions on this stretch of coast, flat enough for an easy walk and open onto the Big River estuary if you'd rather paddle than walk. Canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards all launch from there, which makes it a fair trade for anyone whose dog was the reason Fern Canyon was off the table in the first place.
Why fall is actually the better window
The redwood canyon at Russian Gulch changes with the rain, and hikers who've done this trail across seasons tend to agree that it's better wet than dry. Fern Canyon and the waterfall come alive after a good soaking, with the moss deepening and the creek picking up enough flow to make the falls worth the climb. Early fall, before the heaviest rain arrives but with the summer crowds thinned out, tends to split the difference: cooler air under the canopy, a creek that's just starting to wake up, and a parking lot that isn't full by nine.
The campground itself closes for the season once the rains settle in, which shifts the day-use crowd earlier in the morning and later in the fall than you'd see in July. If you've been putting off the long version of this hike because the lot's always full, this is the stretch of the year when it usually isn't.
None of this requires special gear or a permit. It requires knowing which trailhead to use, which the closure notice at the campground doesn't spell out, and which most of the third-party trail apps still list as if the old route were open. The waterfall hasn't gone anywhere. The way in has just moved to the other side of the canyon.
Before you drive out, it's worth a quick check of the Russian Gulch State Park page for the current alert, since renovation timelines shift and the last thing you want is a wasted trip out Highway 1.
If you're already the kind of person who reroutes around a trail closure instead of turning back, you already know this coast better than most. Sold with Summer keeps an eye on the small, practical stuff that makes living here easier, trail detours included. Let's talk about your next move, whenever that day comes.
