Lower Calf Creek Falls Hike: A Great Hike from Start to Finish!
Hiked on Friday, October 4, 2013; reviewed October 26, 2013 See this review on Trip Advisor.
We had a group of 6 folks make this hike in early October. We got a little later start than we had hoped, but that worked out as it was unseasonably cool that day. We arrived right about 11:00 and shortly thereafter we were heading to one of the best easy hikes I have experienced in southern Utah.
I had heard a lot about this hike and how it is one of the best in the region, but I really had no appreciation for truly how wonderful the hike was until this morning. I found the variety of scenery along the trail to be wonderful as we marched along the trail that alternated between running along Calf Creek and the surrounding rocks. The cottonwoods in the floor of the valley were staring to don their fall wardrobe. There were wildflowers all along the trail. In fact this is probably the best fall I have seen for flowers. Lots of purple asters, several types of bright yellow flowers and still some Indian paintbrush in bright red. All the colors of the flora and foliage really complemented the red and brown hues of the sandstone cliffs. Add to this the brilliant blue sky and the white clouds and there is an amazing palate for this truly great hike.
In addition to the wonderful colors in the vegetation and the rocks, there were also some other interesting sites along the trail and a few critters as well. One of the guys in our group saw a bear; well not a real bear but a face of a bear in the rocks above us. There was a panel of rock art on the other side of the canyon; these must have been very large images for them to have been visible from across the valley. And there was a granary high up on the cliffs above the trail when we made one of the final turns along the creek.
No big animals were spotted along the hike, but we did see several small critters: trout in the creek, a ground squirrel, a few birds including an American Dipper in Calf Creek and a Monarch butterfly or two. There was also an interesting blue striped caterpillar crossing the trail; I just took a picture and let him continue on his way (hey, I only swat mosquitoes when hiking!).
We had a group of 6 folks make this hike in early October. We got a little later start than we had hoped, but that worked out as it was unseasonably cool that day. We arrived right about 11:00 and shortly thereafter we were heading to one of the best easy hikes I have experienced in southern Utah.
I had heard a lot about this hike and how it is one of the best in the region, but I really had no appreciation for truly how wonderful the hike was until this morning. I found the variety of scenery along the trail to be wonderful as we marched along the trail that alternated between running along Calf Creek and the surrounding rocks. The cottonwoods in the floor of the valley were staring to don their fall wardrobe. There were wildflowers all along the trail. In fact this is probably the best fall I have seen for flowers. Lots of purple asters, several types of bright yellow flowers and still some Indian paintbrush in bright red. All the colors of the flora and foliage really complemented the red and brown hues of the sandstone cliffs. Add to this the brilliant blue sky and the white clouds and there is an amazing palate for this truly great hike.
In addition to the wonderful colors in the vegetation and the rocks, there were also some other interesting sites along the trail and a few critters as well. One of the guys in our group saw a bear; well not a real bear but a face of a bear in the rocks above us. There was a panel of rock art on the other side of the canyon; these must have been very large images for them to have been visible from across the valley. And there was a granary high up on the cliffs above the trail when we made one of the final turns along the creek.
No big animals were spotted along the hike, but we did see several small critters: trout in the creek, a ground squirrel, a few birds including an American Dipper in Calf Creek and a Monarch butterfly or two. There was also an interesting blue striped caterpillar crossing the trail; I just took a picture and let him continue on his way (hey, I only swat mosquitoes when hiking!).
We came to the payoff of the hike after about 2 hours. What an amazing sight to see this tall waterfall out in the middle of the desert southwest. It is amazing to me how the plants in the desert take advantage of every drop of water and the hanging gardens in the cliff face are perfect examples. It was also noticeably cooler here at the lower falls due to the shade from the cliff and the mist from the falls. Plus our bright blue sky was turning overcast. Too cold for swimming today. Perhaps the advantage to the cooler temperature is that we had the falls almost to ourselves so it was easy to get decent photos without a lot of people in the frame. We paused at the falls to enjoy the peace of the setting and to have a snack before retracing our steps back along Calf Creek to the trailhead. We were now under completely overcast skies and the temperature was falling a bit, but still very pleasant for the return hike. We took our time and stopped often for photos and to read the interpretive signs, so we were on the trail about 4 hours. Overall, I rate this trail as easy as it is fairly flat, but there are some sandy areas that make for slow going. It is also mostly exposed, so on a warm, sunny day it could get uncomfortable. After finally making this lovely trek, I now understand why this is often listed as one of the best hikes in Utah.
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