Midway through the park’s quiet western half, Rainbow Falls tumbles down a rock face beside JFK Drive, fed by pumps like every waterfall in this built landscape. Look up. Above the falls, mostly hidden by trees, stands the Prayerbook Cross: a 64-foot sandstone Celtic cross, one of the largest in the country, raised in 1894 for the Midwinter Fair.
It commemorates the first recorded Anglican service on the Pacific coast, held in 1579 when Sir Francis Drake’s chaplain led prayers somewhere on these shores. The cross was once a landmark visible across the park; the forest John McLaren planted grew up around it, and now it belongs to those who know to look.
A short unpaved path climbs from the falls toward its base. This is the stop that breaks up the long walk between Stow Lake and the Polo Field, and the best secret on the route.
