The view from the top of Hageman Falls, which overlooks the Santa Ynez River.

It is an ephemeral waterfall that only flows during periods of heavier rainfall and only for a short time thereafter.

Facing somewhat north eastward on the backside of the Santa Ynez Mountains, and being that it only flows during the winter months when the sun is low in the sky, it is not an easy waterfall to photograph in action because of the lighting. (Of course, I’m not a photographer, stopped using my SLR for this blog years ago, and now typically just use a cell phone.)

Even when flowing vigorously, it appears from below and at a distance to be not much more than a gush of white water framed in dense chaparral. It’s not among the most scenic falls in the county.

While it is a true waterfall, that is a vertical fall rather than a tumbling cascade, and it measures several tens of feet tall, the best view may just be from its top overlooking the river valley, rather than gazing up at it from below.

Whatever the case may be, it is a character in the local forest around this neck of the woods and so must, at some point, be featured on these pages even if only a relatively minor feature of the Santa Ynez Mountains.