Battle Creek Falls - Summer

Battle Creek Falls is a wonderful waterfall located near Pleasant Grove. The short trail goes through a fairly narrow canyon and features a creek for the upper section. The waterfall is famed for being a twin waterfall, but something seems to have affected it and it is almost always a single waterfall now. I only saw a good twin waterfall once in winter. We had a short window between some storms today, and I still wanted to get out in the mountains. So I opted to do this trail again since it is a little shorter. I figured if it did start raining it wouldn’t be awful to run back down. Plus, this trail is not normally a good option on a summer day because there is not much shade, but with the weather today that isn’t an issue.

Quick Details:

Length: 1.2 miles out and back with longer options.
Trail Type: out and back
Difficulty: DR4. Mostly easy, gradual climb but the last quarter mile is definitely a climb!
Elevation Gain: About 600 feet.
Restroom: There is usually a porta-potty there.
Dogs? Yes, leashed.
Other Info: Not a lot of shade.

To Get Here:

Head south on i15. Take exit 275 for Pleasant Grove, and head east. Turn right on state St. turn left on 200 S. Follow that all the way up until the road turns into a dirt parking lot next to Kiwanis Park.



Between the storm kicking up a bunch of dust, and a couple fires going on right now you can barely make out the mountains. Passenger Seat Photography (PSP).



Edge of the storm (PSP).



That is definitely wildfire smoke (PSP).



The parking lot. Normally you can see Utah Lake from here, but not today.

The Trail:



Trailhead sign.



Amazing clouds.



Getting into the canyon.



Really pretty penstemon.



Beautiful dragonfly.



Neat rock formations.



Fun layers.



Mount Timpanogos through the haze.



More fun rock formations.



Looks like they have updated the spillway/diversion dam.



Which killed the little pond. Kind of sad, my pups liked to wade in the little pond. But, I guess they can still wade in the creek here.

This is just a smidge past the halfway point.



Not much further up from the diversion dam you will come across the bridge.



The creek below.



The little cave.



After the cave the trail really starts to climb.



More fun twisted rock layers.



Before long you will reach the side trail down to the waterfall. You can’t miss it, but if you do, you will very quickly realize you did.



More of the pretty purple penstemon.



Wild rose.



The waterfall! Wow the other side is completely dry.Can’t say I am terribly surprised this time of year. Like I mentioned I have only seen the famous twin falls once and it was in winter.



Even if it is just the single waterfall, its still quite lovely.



With the creek.





We found a random little spring.



Back to the waterfall.



With a good gust the spray of the falls widens.



Looking downstream.



Another view with the creek.



One last parting shot before we head on back.



Normally, you have a nice view of Utah Lake from here. But not today with all the smoke.



Looking further up canyon.



The fun rock formations by the cave.



More fun rock formations.





Back down to the new diversion dam.



View down again.


Smoky view of Timpanogos.


I have no idea how this tree is still hanging on.



Back down to the parking lot.



Fun striped rock.



Smoky skies on the way back home (PSP).





Fun cloudy skies (PSP).



Fun clouds above the mountains (PSP).

This is a great short trail with a neat end prize. I a always sad to not see the famed twin waterfalls, but it is still a nice waterfall. I guess between the weather, and the construction of the diversion dam it was not teribly crowded today, so that was a nice plus. Going with 9 out of 10 squirrels.



As for difficulty, this one is mostly a gradual climb, with a steeper climb towards the end. Going with a DR3.

Dogs are allowed on this trail, but must be leashed.