Big Springs

 

The splendid color of fall seems to have descended upon us sooner than usual. I started to look at some fall drives or hikes we could do and after a little research I decided on Big Springs in Provo Canyon.

To get here, take i15 to exit 272 in Provo. Take that to Provo Canyon (stay in the left lane to get into the canyon). Head up the canyon past Bridal Veil Falls (if you haven't seen it, stop. It is an AMAZING waterfall and I believe it to be the tallest in Utah. Continue up the canyon to Vivian Park and take a right on South Fork Rd. Continue up the road for 3.7 miles. turn right at the National Forest Access sign and then it is .1 miles up to the end of the park to the parking lot.

On the way in. I love the mountains above Provo. You can just make out a thin band of color below the rocky parts. (DBP album)

I spotted this random waterfall on the way up the canyon. (DBP)

Then of course is Bridal Veil Falls a little further up. Looking kind of thin as compared to the last time I was here in the fall. (DBP)

And another random waterfall. I really need to spend more time exploring this canyon. (DBP)

The side canyon has some nice color. (DBP)

Lovely shot of the peak above from the parking lot. Now on to the trail!

Right at the beginning you cross the stream and enter the woods.

Fall is just starting, so just getting a couple of pops of color here and there.

Otherwise this is a really enjoyable jaunt in the woods.

I love the leaves littering the ground.

A pretty shot.

Beautiful shot of the stream again. You cross it a few times.

Some aspens.

Nice shot shows how clear the water is. At least this time of year, I am pretty certain it is 100% spring fed. As you will see there are a ton of little side springs leading up to Big Springs itself, and above that we found a dry riverbed.

More forest shots. I really just love walking in the forest.

This is the only spring we found that had a pool. The rest seem to come out of the side of a hill.

I like the way this one came out.

Before long you hit the stunning meadow surrounded by trees. I wanna say it is about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way in.

Super pretty.

Pretty flowers.

Back into the forested area.

Another small meadow.

Even the weeds change color.

More aspens.

The trail is fairly flat most of the way.

Another little spring.

More color.

This is about halfway (it’s about 1.1 miles total)

We hiked up the trail to the left (following the sign) and hiked down the dirt road to the right. Both ways get you there, and I think the road is probably easier, however you may miss the turn you need to take so I recommend taking the trail.

Another shot of the stream.

Color!

Littered trail. Here it starts to get a bit steeper. Still not so bad though.

And the forest becomes more coniferous.

Almost there!

The hillside over there is exploding in color! How do I get over there?

Don’t forget to look up!

Nearing the end of the dark forest…

And pop out into this! This trail has everything.

The color on the hills again.

And we reached Big Springs! Here is the view down the canyon.

Unfortunately, the prettier of the 2 (3?) springs has dried up.

And why I say 3. There are 2 stream beds, the one on the left was flowing, the one on the right was not. This is looking down from the one on the left. The dry stream bed goes a little higher, so I think there is an additional spring that has also dried up. Definitely need to come here again in the spring.

And from below. Not terribly impressive right now.

Still some nice flow.

Some nice aspens.

A split in the trail. To complete the loop, hang a right, to go up a little further, go left. We opted to hike just a bit further today.

The white aspen bark looks great with the color.

The trail now follows up above a dry stream bed.

We went up I’d say about 1 – 2 10ths of a mile before turning back.

This is back below the trail split, what you would see completing the loop instead of pushing further up. Another little meadow.

I still want to go run up there, but I didn’t.

Another shot of the meadow with some aspens.

Before long the trail opened up into a dirt road.

There was a small trail split a few yards back and I wasn’t sure why, until I saw the dirt road went right through the creek.

The trail split took you too a bridge.

Pretty little stream.

More color.

Random basketball hoop?

Ah, there seems to be a group camp site here.

We started getting rained on a bit. Wonderful shot of the clouds looking back up towards the mountains.

Pretty moss covered side stream. I think this MIGHT be where Big Springs joins the creek, but am not sure.

Last parting shot of the camp site, and you can see the dirt road is a little more used and less wild.

A couple pretty shots down the more developed road.

I love the reds!

Another look back up at the mountains. I wonder if that peak is named.

And now we reached the trail split from earlier. You follow the dirt road a little longer, and then split off to the trail again. You can continue following the road back to the parking lot, but we decided to do the trail.

Pretty shot of the creek.

This is a really nice trail.

And the storm clouds are back.

And back to the main first meadow. Still leaning on it being about a quarter of the way in.

The further down, the more rapid the creek. There are a lot of springs in this little area.

Bark stripping water.

Pretty colors and peaks.

And we have reached the end of the trail.

Couple mountain shots from the parking lot.

Nice shot leaving Provo Canyon. (DBP)

High canyon walls. (DBP)

Overall I rather enjoyed this trail. It was mostly easy, not as crowded as I anticipated and was really really pretty. I am a little disappointed the springs were not as active but that is just due to how late in the season it was. So I think I will end at 9 Squirrels.

As for difficulty, I am going to go with a DR3. It is mostly flat and easy, you can make it easier by following the dirt roads more than we did.