Black Star Canyon Hike in California 2024-2025

Black Star Canyon has a bad reputation due to Satanic cult gatherings and murders that took place there. Some people call it the creepiest and most haunted place in California. Black Star Canyon is located in eastern Orange County. It serves as a watershed of the Santa Ana River. The best time to visit the canyon is during the cooler winter period and spring when waterfalls are the most impressive.

The Native American tribe—Tongva-Gabrieliño—used to stay in the canyon during the summer to escape the heat. In 1831 the tribe fought with American and Mexican settlers, and many of its members were killed, which caused some stories about ghosts. According to a story by early settler J.E. "Judge" Pleasants, an armed conflict between a group of Tongva Indians and American fur trappers, led by William Wolfskill, turned into bloodshed, and just a few Native Americans managed to escape the massacre.

According to some accounts, the spirits of Mexican settlers still wonder in the canyon. Another local ghost is “La Llorona”—a woman who murdered her children and killed herself.

In the '80s, the canyon was frequented by a Satanic cult that burned bonfires and performed rituals.