Doughnut Falls Via Jordan Pines Campground

In what looks like may be becoming a tradition we returned to Jordan Pines for a group campout to celebrate a few birthdays. Jordan Pines is directly below Doughnut Falls (often referred to as Donut Falls) so I planned on hiking up to it. I have done this short (half mile) hike several times, but this is the first time I have hiked from the campsite so I am once again posting.

The campground is approximately 9 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon near the Mill D South area. Drive up Mill D South Rd. Very shortly is a left with a sign for the campground. This will add .25 - .4 miles to the hike. Please note, the Jordan Pines Campground is a group only site, so it costs a little bit more. So, be sure to grab a bunch of friends/family to really enjoy it. Or camp at the nearby Spruces Campground which does have single tent sites and I know has a trail to the falls from there as well (but I don’t know how long it is, I would guess at least an additional mile)..

If you are not camping, rather than go left, stay on Mill D South Rd. past the cabins. The road will eventually turn into a dirt road. The parking lot is small, so you may have to turn around and park in the Mill D lot which will add about .75 miles to your hike up.

After arriving and claiming a tent site we didn’t waste any time getting onto the trail. Our particular site (3) there is a main trail back towards additional tent sites, that also continues up towards the trailhead.

After a very short steep section it dumps you out into an pretty clearing. I saw moose up here last year, so keep your head up.

The trail is kind of thin through here I wonder how many campers use it.

Clearing the way for power poles. There are a couple cabins up here that you will pass by.

Not very far up the trail dumps you out into the dirt road. Take a mental note of where it did. Unlike the Spruces trail, there is no sign here. Hike another 100 yards or so and you will arrive at the trailhead. There is a restroom here. From the trailhead, the falls are only a half mile up.

Various flowers.

Some nice aspens.

And pines.

The trail is generally wide, with slight elevation gains. I caught a rather smoother section, as most of it is pretty rocky.

First glimpse of the creek.

And a view from the bridge which seems to have been repaired since our last trip up here.

It is just gorgeous up here this time of year.

Before long you will reach the narrow canyon. This means you are almost there.

There is the steep rock you have to climb down, but its got good well placed footholds.

The creek.

And the first glimpse of the falls. You can see the water disappear into the side of the mountain. It is pretty cool!

This is actually pretty chill comparatively, but you can see this is a very popular trail. The reason it is less packed than usual is because there was another fall here earlier today and it was closed off for a while just before we arrived. The 2nd fall in a week, the 1st being fatal.

So I can see why there were now 2 incidents here. The water is really gushing, quite a bit more than even this time last year. I am pretty sure, even if I did not know about the recent incidents I still would have determined there is too much water to safely climb up. Don’t get me wrong, I have done it several times without incident, and it always gives me pause. I don’t want to go so far as saying it is normally safe, but if you are careful, and use your best judgment it can be done without incident. Like today, I determined the water was going too fast to safely attempt it.

But if you do it, it is worth it. Just, please be careful. (Image from inside the cave from last year.)

But again, even if you determine the risk isn’t worth it, you can see it from below, so it is not a wasted hike.

This shot really shows the water concern. That rock towards the center of the photo isn’t normally underwater, it usually just has some water lightly flowing down it.

We decided to start heading back on down the trail. Here is a view down the canyon.

Happy sideways tree.

Lovely scenery up here.

Lots of bluebells up here.

And some pink ones! These must not be as mature.

Caterpillar nest.

More aspens.

Squirrel!

Back to the river crossing.

It is so incredibly beautiful up here.

Pretty forests.

Back to the clearing near the trailhead.

The “overflow” parking lot. If you do park up here be mindful of the signage. Not much further down are no parking signs and they do enforce it regularly.

And back to our thin little trail that leads us back to our camp site.

Pretty blue flowers.

And the clearing with the cabins again.

View from the group fire pit area in our campground.

Terribly blurry picture of the full moon rising. This is why tripods were invented.

The following morning I climbed up the trail to the clearing again hoping to see wildlife. Last year we saw moose and deer, this year not so lucky.

Tons of bluebells.

I don’t know what this is but it is pretty.

Nice morning view from our site.

And a morning visit from a squirrel looking for snacks.

At the end of it, we had a wonderful time. I am a little upset we couldn’t hike up to the cave of doughnut falls, but I still enjoyed the little hike we did. And camping here was a blast as well!

For the hike, it easy, beautiful and holds a wonderful end prize. It is however, crowded. I will retain the 9 squirrels.

 

As for difficulty. It is only a half mile from the trailhead. From our campground add another … .25 - .4 miles it was definitely less time to get to the trailhead, then the trailhead to the falls. It is fairly easy with little elevation gain. Although, it is definitely rocky at parts. Going with a DR3.

Now, if you intend to climb the rockslide to get a better view of the falls, well, it is dangerous, and you will get wet. So that would bump it up to a DR5.

Big Cottonwood Canyon is watershed so dogs are not allowed.