Mysterious ruins in a canyon that used to be home to grizzly bears? In Orange County? Yes, and getting there is a heckuva hike. This strenuous, 15 mile out-and-back trail up Black Star Canyon has several highlights, including a great views, a beautiful waterfall (in season), and the remains of Beek’s Place — a weekend getaway built by Joseph Beek in the 1930’s. Beek was remarkably accomplished and he started the Balboa Ferry — which his family still owns.

Beek’s Place, back in better days.
Black Star Canyon is rich with history and legend. Up until the late 1800’s, the canyon was home to numerous grizzly bears (none remain in California today). The canyon was home to the Black Star Mining Company, for which the canyon is named. And according to a story recounted by early settler J.E. “Judge” Pleasants, an armed conflict between American fur trappers, led by William Wolfskill, and a group of Tongva Indians occurred in 1831.
“The story of the battle, the bloodiest in the history of the Santa Ana Mountains, was told seventy years ago by William Wolfskill to J. E. Pleasants, and was repeated to us by Mr. Pleasants. The Indians were very fond of horseflesh. Ranchos were lacking in means of defense in the days when the missions were breaking up and Indians from the mountains and desert used to have no trouble in stealing herds of horses from the Spaniards. A party of trappers came across from New Mexico in 1831. Their long rifles and evident daring offered to the troubled dons a solution to their horse-stealing difficulties. Americans were not any too welcome in the Mexican pueblo of Los Angeles, and it was with a desire to please the Spaniards [Mexicans] in this foreign land a long way from the United States that the American trappers agreed to run down the Indian horsethieves.
The trail of the stolen band of horses was followed across the Santa Ana River, eastward through what is now Villa Park and up the Santiago Canyon to the mouth of Canyon de los Indios… Here, the trail turned into mountain fastnesses, into the unknown mountains, covered heavily with brush. With every turn a favorable spot for ambush, the frontiersmen made their way carefully. The trail took the men up a steep mountainside, and, after two or three hours of climbing there was laid out before them a little valley with grassy slopes and hillsides [today called Hidden Ranch], upon which horses were quietly grazing. Smoke was coming from fires in the age-old campground of the Indians at the lower end of the valley. The Indians were feasting on juicy horseflesh. Perhaps it was the crack of a long rifle, the staggering of a mortally wounded Indian that gave the natives their first warning of the presence of an enemy. Among the oaks and boulders an unequal battle was fought. There were no better marksmen on earth than these trappers. They had killed buffalo. They had fought the Comanche and Apache. They were a hardy, fearless lot, else they would not have made their way across the hundreds of miles of unknown mountain and desert that laid between New Mexico and California. The Indians were armed with a few old Spanish blunderbuss muskets and with bows and arrows.
The battle was soon over. Leaving their dead behind them, the Indians who escaped the bullets of the trappers scrambled down the side of the gorge and disappeared in the oaks and brush. Of those who had begun the fight, but a few got away. The stolen horses were quickly rounded up. Some of them were animals stolen months before. The herd was driven down the trail to the Santiago and a day or two later, the horses were delivered to their owners. In the battle, not one of the frontiersmen was wounded.”
Hiking to Beek’s Place

Time: 6+ hours
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation gain: 2,750 ft
Dogs: Yes
When to go: Year-round
The first mile is mostly flat with a gentle incline. This first section is lined with private property and ominous “No Trespassing” signs. Be a good neighbor, tread quietly through this section and do not trespass.
At the 2.5 mile mark, you’ll cross Black Star Creek. This bend is also where you can take a spur to the base of Black Star Falls. This seasonal waterfall is best viewed after spring showers. To get there, you’ll have to pick your way along the creek for about .5 miles — there is no official trail.
Here you have a choice. You can stick to longer but gently climbing double-track trail (adds about .5 miles each way), or catch the steep single track shortcut. You’ll rejoin the main trail in .4 miles. Turn right and continue to follow the double-track trail upwards.
At the 4.5 mile mark, you’ll see a small single-track trail veering right towards the canyon. There are trees to provide much-needed shade (a good spot for a break) and signs of the Native Americans who used to live in the canyon.
Retrace your steps to the main trail, and continue your climb to the main divide. As you climb higher, you will see some amazing views and awesome geographic formations.
When you reach the Main Divide trail, turn right and head towards an unusual clump of pine trees. Here you’ll find the remains of Beek’s Place.
Beek’s Place was a weekend retreat for the Beek family, who still owns the land. There was a smaller building where a caretaker sometimes lived for a few months during the year. Sadly, the retreat fell victim to disaster and vandalism, and ultimately it’s current state of disrepair.
There are two things you’ll notice about the location. First, the wind often howls over this ridge. Second, the views are awesome — especially on a clear day. You can see down into Corona and east to the San Bernardino mountains, and southwest to the Pacific Ocean and even Catalina Island.
Return down the double-track you hiked up. If water is running in Black Star Creek, take a detour to view the waterfall. There are two options. The first you’ll come to is a single track trail that heads east, straight down into Black Star Canyon. This is a fairly short spur down a sleep incline to the creek. From there, you can boulder-scramble downstream along a series of small waterfalls until you reach the top of the main waterfall.
Note that there is no way to get from the top to the bottom; you’ll have to retrace your steps to the main trail and head further down to the junction with the creek previously mentioned (2.5 miles from the trailhead).
There is no “trail” to the base of the falls. Instead, follow the creek upstream for about .5 miles. Watch for poison oak — it’s prevalent in the area.
The optional bushwack to the base of Black Star Falls adds about one mile to the total mileage for the hike.
From here, you follow the road back through the residential part of the canyon to the gate and the parking area.
Beek’s Place via Black Star Canyon Trail Map

Beek’s Place and Blackstar Canyon Photo Gallery
Click on any photo to view a larger version. You can also leave comments on any photo.
Black Star Canyon Tips
- This trail gets a lot of sun exposure. Wear sun protection and bring extra water. The trail to Beek’s Place is best hiked in the spring or winter when the temperatures are more moderate.
- There have been past stories of canyon residents and squatters chasing off hikers. I didn’t experience any problems, but exercise common sense. Hike in a group, be a good neighbor, and stay on the road as you go through the residential part of the canyon.
- If you’d like to visit the waterfall, be sure to go in the winter or spring not long after rains. Black Star Creek and it’s waterfall usually runs dry by summer.
- This trail is also popular with mountain bikers. Be alert and share the trail.
Other Black Star Canyon Resources
- The Mystery Above Black Star Canyon – OC Register
- Cleveland National Forest Current Conditions and Closures
- Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks – Black Star Canyon – Docent led hikes and mountain bike rides
Black Star Canyon Weather Forecast
[forecast width=”100%” location=”92676″]
Aah, so that’s what Black Star Canyon looks like during the day. What a great hike. Sounds better during winter though and with my penchant for getting lost along with a group.
Wow there was actually water in the falls? I have never been there when there is water!
The best time to see the falls is after we’ve had some rain. The rain about a week ago will help, but it really flows in later winter or early spring after some consistent rain.
The middle trail from the creek to the road is not well defined. We did the hike today and ended up bush whacking up a 45 degree slope. On our way back we followed the road and found the correct trail. My advice is to keep left and follow the trails with a deep rut in the middle.
We enjoyed the scramble up the creek to the falls and also enjoyed climbing up the falls to the little tunnel. It was a beautiful Fall hike.
Paul, this is the trail we took down to the falls:
It’s a single track trail that runs perpendicular to the fire road up to (or down from) Beek’s Place. When you reach the brush, it didn’t require bushwacking, but it was overgrown and you had to duck down to get down to the creek. From there we worked our way down the creek to the top of the 50 foot falls. This was fun and sometimes required some fairly easy bouldering.
Is that the trail you didn’t find? 🙂
Jeff, we didn’t make it to Beek’s Place. The trail that I was referring to was the one that you referred to as the “steep single track shortcut”. We tried the shortcut but were not able to follow it correctly. I definitely want to hike down to the top of the falls on a future trip.
Jeff, thanks for this post! I’m training for the JMT, and doing this hike tomorrow. Your blog has been so helpful these past few years. Thank you!
Can you camp overnight at any part of this or would you advise it?
There is a way to get from the bottom of the falls to the top. If you go up the far right side there is a very steep trail with very loose dirt. Would not try to go down this trail as you would have to go down backwards to hold on. Once at the top of this scramble there is a trail that rides along the top of the falls and again has very loose packed dirt. Go slow because if you slide you’re going right off the edge of the falls.
I’m going hiking with my buddies during night time to film for a project and maybe catch the suppose sightings of the KKK, tribe sacrificials, or the witch meetings. What do you guys think?
I am a solitary, long-time practitioner of the Dark Arts and I am planning on a night time excursion to the canyon in hopes of encountering my fellow mages during the full moon in October. To be honest, I have some health problems and unfortunately will be going alone and I have horrible nightvision. Now this is not to say that I wont be able to confront any agressive beings if it came down to it, I will be prepared to fully defend myself against the living or dark spirits.To that end, I would welcome any information anyone would be willing to share regarding the underground temple or meeting place where the group of pagans/wiccans worship at and also would welcome anyone who would like to join me as I def wouldn’t mind have someone to watch my back. Thank you all for reading. Sincerely, TMOPAP
From parking lot up to Beek’s hovel and back took me 6.5 hours with a decent pace and minimal breaks. It’s an uphill battle with little shade. Be prepared to suffer better
Oh BTW your site is an awesome resource. Thanks and cheers!