Paulina Creek is waterfall nirvana.

And there’s nothing quite like cool, tumbling water to take the edge off a hot, dusty hike.

In the past, we have visited the mother of all falls on the creek, Paulina Falls, one of the premier attractions inside Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Paulina Falls is 80 feet of raw gravitational power, a wide-angle panorama of unbridled hydraulics.

Then we got a taster of the smaller falls downstream, got our hair wet and vowed we’d get back there to explore.

And so we did. And to top off the fun and sense of adventure, we made the trip with a couple of visitors from back East who were awed by the scenery and just had to swim in a pool below a waterfall.

It didn’t take us long.

We took off from Ten-Mile Sno-park, hiking down the road and turning left onto a singletrack trail. About a half-mile up the windy little path, we came to Road 300, jogged left and then right and began hearing the welcome whoosh of falling water.

The first waterfall we came to was small compared with the big bopper upstream, but we were able to get completely wet, the water cascading over our heads.

But we wanted more. So we walked upstream a little ways and crossed the creek via a wooden footbridge. Then we followed the trail downstream in search of the perfect little waterfall.

That’s a completely subjective determination.

Luckily, there are plenty of falls on this steep little creek and we were pretty much all on the same page.

It wasn’t long before we found what we were looking for — a couple of cascading falls with big juicy pools below.

On a hot day, the water’s just right. We swam, basked a little in the sun, swam again. We even got behind one of the mini falls for one of those signature photos that remind you of a Hawaii travel brochure.

It’s a creek with lots of vertical drop so there are plenty of waterfalls in the eight-mile stretch (there’s a trail all the way) between the footbridge and the bottom of the hill.

Explore away. But be sure to use common sense. Sheer cliffs and unsure footing abound off the trail. And some pools are safer for swimming than others, depending on your abilities. If in doubt, just dangle your feet in the water and take a lot of photos.

If you decide to explore the waterfalls, take plenty of water, pack some energy food and a dry change of clothes (very nice to have when you get back to the car). Good footwear is essential. Those functional sandals that aren’t afraid to get wet work well, but sneakers are fine.

Cowabunga.

— Jim Witty