The hook
A near-perfect heart, a few feet across, is worn into the rock beside a small waterfall on Seeley Creek, and no one carved it.
01Why it's worth it
The heart at Heart Rock is a pothole, a hollow ground out of solid stone over thousands of years by a pebble spinning in the current, and by chance it came out symmetrical enough to look deliberate. It sits at the lip of a granite slab next to a twenty-foot fall in the pines near Crestline, and reaching it is unusually easy for a mountain waterfall: the trail runs downhill from the road, about a mile and a half round trip through the woods along the creek. It's best when the water is up in spring and after snowmelt, spilling past the heart and over the fall. By late summer the flow can thin to almost nothing, and the heart just sits there dry. A short, odd, genuinely charming stop.
02How to experience it
The trail leaves from near Camp Seeley off Highway 138 in the Valley of Enchantment, west of Crestline, about seven hours from the Bay. Parking is free and no pass is required. Go in spring for water. The footing near the falls is slick, so watch your step at the overlook and keep back from the edge. It pairs well with a drive up the Rim of the World Highway.