Since the debacle in 2020, even the mere thought of Memorial Day Weekend has struck fear in the minds of daily visitors to Eaton Canyon. Each year, this specific weekend sees the highest influx of Angelinos drawn by the holiday, the onset of summer, favorable weather, and high creek flows. The combination of COVID-19 and TikTok has allowed the canyon to surge in popularity across Southern California, with the main waterfall frequently being a top result when one searches “Waterfalls in Los Angeles.” On top of that, Eaton Canyon is one of the most centrally located and accessible waterfalls within Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States.
As a consequence to all of this, approximately 35,000 to 50,000 people visited Eaton Canyon between Saturday morning, May 25th and Monday evening, May 27th, 2024. Only Memorial Day weekend 2020 itself was busier.
The mass influx of people into the canyon has led to multiple issues in the area, including excessive trash, graffiti, unlicensed vendors, illegal parking, and loud music. The busy weekend has renewed conversations among locals who want to do something about the Disneyland-type visitation levels, with calls for more sheriffs, more park rangers, a fee for entry, a towing company on stand-by, and even a return to the COVID-era reservation system. The Angeles National Forest does not consider the waterfall trail a real trail, and thus no forest rangers occupy the area.
Hopes are that visitation will drop in the canyon after Big Santa Anita Canyon, which has been closed since August 2020 due to the Bobcat Fire and the 2023 floods, will reopen on June 1st.
The last influx on memorial day over 5,000 in the am resulted in immediate closure. Hopefully the county will look into this and provide support.