McCleod Flat Staging Area

McCleod Flat Staging Area is a trailhead and parking lot on the north side of Bass Lake, just outside Oakhurst, where the Willow Creek Trail comes to an end after climbing out of the Bass Lake basin. It's the quieter of the two access points for this stretch of the Sierra National Forest — most hikers start down at the Willow Creek parking area near the lake and use McCleod Flat as their turnaround point or loop connector.

Angel Falls and the Willow Creek Loop

The signature hike here is the Angel Falls and McCleod Flat Loop, a 5.5-mile route that climbs steeply from the Willow Creek Trail past Angel Falls before joining the McCleod Flat Trail about two miles northeast and looping back. AllTrails rates it moderately challenging, with an average hiking time around 2 hours 45 minutes. Hikers who want a shorter version can do the 3.5-mile Angel Falls loop instead, turning back at the falls rather than pushing on to McCleod Flat.

Know Before You Go

• A parking fee applies at this trailhead, per the Sierra National Forest's Bass Lake Ranger District.
• The granite around Angel Falls and nearby Devil's Slide gets slick when wet, and the pools below the falls have currents strong enough to catch people off guard — stay back from the edge rather than wading in.
• The staging area sits in Madera County within Bass Lake Ranger District territory; call (559) 877-2218 for current trail and road conditions.