The Carson Falls hike is officially one of my new favorite outings north of San Francisco. After a few weeks of rain in SF, a few girlfriends and I wanted to find a hike that would have some gorgeous waterfalls. Carson Falls did not disappoint! Read on for this perfect day hike and the best lunch spot to reward yourself after.

The Carson Falls hike is absolutely perfect—you get the best of both worlds with a hike that takes you up hills with great views and down into a forest ravine with a huge gushing 75-foot waterfall.

At just over 3 miles roundtrip, the Carson Falls hike is located about an hour north of SF, just past Fairfax. After driving up the winding Fairfax-Bolinas Road, you'll see a parking lot and gated fire road. The trailhead starts at the fire road, climbing up Pine Mountain to give you great views of Alpine Lake and Mount Tam.

After a mile, follow the signs to turn left onto Oat Hill Road. You'll start to descend into grasslands and forest as you make your way closer to the falls.

Follow the signs and turn right onto Carson Falls Trail. Soon you'll come to a clearing where you can go left or right. If you go left, you can gaze down on the falls from the top of giant rock formations. If you head to the right, you cross a cute wooden bridge.

Follow this path downhill to get great views from beneath the falls at varying heights from different pools.

Lunch At M.H. Bread & Butter Restaurant

Now that you've worked up an appetite, it's time for a delicious lunch (or late afternoon snack, or dinner, whatever excuse you need to eat at M.H. Bread & Butter).

Head back towards Fairfax and set your course to M.H. Bread & Butter. This is a super cute cafe with amazing sandwiches, salads, baked goods, and—of course—bread. One of the owners, Nathan Yanko, was previously a baker at Tartine Bakery for eight years, so you know this bread is going to good.

We sat outside soaking in the sunshine enjoying their tuna conserva sandwich with arugula, tapenade, roasted red peppers, fried capers, fennel, and herbs on their chewy whole wheat bianca bread.

The salads at H.M. Bread & Butter are also delicious. We couldn't stop raving over the different dressings for their spring spinach salad with green garlic vinaigrette and citrus + avocado salad with buttermilk dressing.

And, of course, what meal at M.H. Bread & Butter would be complete without bread and butter? The cafe offers a trio of breads and butters with sweet and savory flavors. After your Carson Falls hike, you earned it!

Learn more about the Carson Falls hike at bahiker.com.

This article originally appeared on SarahCraves. You might also like:

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