Hike to a San Cristóbal Canyon Waterfall View
If you enjoy a good long walk, hiking on the Vereda Cascada El Ancón (also known as the Vereda Don Félix Berríos) in the Reserva Natural del Cañón San Cristóbal is great. Administered by Para La Naturaleza, there is a nice trail through this protected nature area for public use. This trail, in Barranquitas, is 1.5 mile walk to a scenic view point (mirador) where you can see the Cascada El Ancón and the river that made this canyon.
The Usabón River took millions of years to erode away the land to make the San Cristóbal Canyon. The trail head is located in Baranquitas and will only take you about 45 minutes to walk to see the canyon! The trail starts out along an old road. It is now a dirt road that is only open for pedestrians — we saw a number of people using it for running and walking!
We walked it and it is hot! Most of the first part of the trail is in full sun. Going up and down some hills (mostly down on the way in)), past fields and even an old house. Keep going, and eventually you come to a wonderful shaded part as the trail goes through the woods. A lot of this is also downhill, so take your time on the way back. This shaded forested path is a loop, so you can see other things on the way back if you take the other side of the loop. There were birds, plants, butterflies, and they are planting trees along the roads and in the old fields for shade.
The path eventually ends right at the edge of the canyon, where there are overlooks to see the river below and the Ancón Waterfall across the canyon. This canyon divides the towns of Aibonito and Barranquitas, and the canyon is up to 750 feet deep in places. The waterfall Salto El Ancón is about 300 feet tall and is actually located in Aibonito. With the drone, we could see it is actually multiple waterfalls below Ancón, making the total falls’ height closer to 700 feet! The whole thing is just beautiful! Well worth the walk.
Details
There is no fee to use this trail. Enter through the small pedestrian gate.
Access the trail during daylight hours. Allow enough time to get back to the road before dark.
It can be hot and sunny there, so bring a hat, long sleeve shirt, sunscreen, and ample drinking water. Wear closed-toe shoes to protect from rocks and grasses. There are no facilities on the trail. Dogs on leashes are permitted. Please keep the trail clean.
The walk to the waterfall view is 3 miles round trip. It took us just over 1 hour to complete.
You can email them at reservaciones@pln.org for more information. You can call them at 787-722-5882 for more information, Monday to Friday 9am to 5:30pm.
You can visit the Para La Naturaleza Cascada El Ancon webpage for more information. They also have information on other trails that they maintain.
Park on the side of Road 162 KM 15.4, or to either side of the locked green gate (do not block the gate!). The marker on Google Maps says “Finca Don Felix”.
Click on a placename below to view the location on Google Maps ...
PuertoRicoDayTrips.com assumes no responsibility regarding your safety when participating in the activities described in this article. Please use common sense! If your mother or that little voice in your head tells you that you are about to do something stupid … then don't do it!
