Upper Falls - Provo Canyon

Upper Falls is a waterfall I noticed while driving up Provo Canyon. I was kind of surprised that you can get to it, and it is a relatively short trail. The last half of it is seriously, UP, like straight up the side of the mountain, and very rocky. Luckily it is short so it was not too bad. It is a great ~80 foot waterfall, however when you get to it you can only see the lower ~30 foot tier. It is a great side adventure to get away from the crowds of Bridal Veil Falls.

Quick Details:

Length: About a mile to the falls.
Difficulty: DR5 a lot of up and rocky footing.
Elevation Gain: About 530 Ft, Rapidly.
Restroom: There is one at Upper Falls Park, and I believe there is one in Nunns Park.
Dogs? Not sure.

To get here head up Provo Canyon. Take the exit for Nunn’s Park (about 3.3 miles up)and drive up to the Bridal Veil Falls lookout. Park, and take the bridge across the river. Take the Provo River Parkway jogging trail about a half mile uphill. You should see Upper Falls Park on the left across the river, and an old, graffiti covered building on the right. There is a thin trail up to the right of this building.

Heading towards Provo Canyon (DBP).

Heading up the canyon (DBP).

Bridal Veil Falls. Looking a little low on water.

The upper two tiers.

the full waterfall.

What remains of the old tram. From what I understand 2 avalanches and a fire finally did it in. I heard word they were going to rebuild it again, but so far nothing.

Looking back towards Bridal Veil Falls.

After about a half mile on the Provo River Parkway you will see this old structure on the right. You can just make out the thin trail to the right.

And into the woods!

This trail is seriously straight up the side of the mountain! Oi!

And very rocky as well.

Not much further up you can view the cliffs above.

However, now you have to hike through this scree.

The view across the canyon is great though.

Through the scree.

first view of the falls, obscured through trees.

And a better shot.

With the peaks above.

I was wondering where the creek was. It would seem the majority of it is captured and transported elsewhere.

The lower tier.

And above.

View across the canyon again.

The original waterfall path, now scree field.

The lower tier again.

Most of it flows into that basin.

With the peaks above.

Seeing the upper tier.

Random structure.

Inside.

Other side.

Getting a better shot of the upper tier.

And the peaks above.

Best shot of both tiers of the day.

Last parting shot.

Heading down the scree.

Funky bumpy stump.

Thin waterfall on the other side of the canyon.

Pines on a steep slope.

Pretty forest.

Back to the structure just above the parkway.

And the Parkway itself.

A shot of the Prove River.

We drove up towards Upper Falls Park and tried to get a shot of the falls, and this is the best I got.

From our drive to Stewart Cascades in October of 2014 (DBP). Only about a year and a half later to explore it.

Well that was a tough, but amazing adventure! You start out at what I believe to be the tallest waterfall in Utah, which is a great spot in itself. And you end at a quiet little waterfall!Going with a good 10 out of 10 squirrels.

As for difficulty, I am going to put this at DR5. It was seriously UP and tough and rocky. Even though it is short, it was definitely a lot of wear and tear on the knees and calves.

Dogs, well, I don’t know at all. There were no signs banning them, but nothing saying they were allowed. I guess, bring at your own risk.

Rocky Mouth Falls

Rocky Mouth is a short canyon trail hiding behind a expensive looking neighborhood in Sandy. The short half mile trail ends with a pretty great waterfall. I grew up not too far from here so I have been hiking this since I was a kid. it is still one of my favorite trails, even with all the changes it has gone through over the years.

Quick Details:

Length: About a half mile to the waterfall.
Difficulty: DR3 there is definitely some up on this trail but it’s short.
Elevation Gain: about 300 feet.
Restroom: No.
Dogs? Not allowed, posted.
Extra Info: Closes at 9:00 PM. Also, it’s been years since they made this change, but in case you are not aware, you can no longer park on the street below the original trailhead. Now you must park just off of Wasatch, and hike through the neighborhood for a minute.

To get here, head towards 9400 S and Wasatch BLVD. Drive south down Wasatch for about 3 miles. You will see a church on the right side, and just south of that is the small trailhead parking lot on the left (east) side. 11250 S. Wasatch BLVD.

The trail starts with a pretty long staircase that brings you up the hill into the neighborhood.

And up through a neighborhood.

And even though we’re in a neighborhood, we still saw some wildlife. Hello deer!

Oh, apparently we interrupted them crossing the street.

After passing 5 or 6 houses, you reach the original trailhead.

This trail has slowly changed over the years. I guess the homeowners, who built next to this nice natural attraction have whined enough. they have it gated now, closing at 9 PM. You also used to be able to park here and save a couple hundred yards walk. I guess they got annoyed by a couple cars parked on the street. Jokes on them though, I’m pretty sure moving the trailhead to Wasatch has brought more attention to it. There used to be a sign saying it was closed in winters though. I wonder if that has changed.

After passing through the neighborhood the trail goes up rather quickly. You gain most of the last bit of elevation through here.

Then the trail levels out.

And then descends back down into the ravine.

And into the woods!

First little cave.

First glimpse of the falls.

2nd little cave. I believe this was a mine, and it has since been walled off.

The waterfall sites in a narrow recess in a high cliff wall.

Rock climbers.

And the full waterfall proper. When I was quite a bit younger I remember hiking here several times and seeing a raging waterfall. However, I haven’t seen that in years. Not sure if run off has been that bad lately, or if it has been diverted upstream.

Slightly extended exposure.

View down canyon.

I found some rocks to climb up and get a view of the top of the falls.

Trying a landscape shot makes it look so small.

Last parting shot.

Looking down canyon.

The creek.

View of the valley below.

Last look at Rocky Mouth Canyon.

Old rusted pipes by the new trailhead.

This is still a great trail, even if you do have to hike through a neighborhood for a little while now. nice and short, with a great waterfall at the end. 10 out of 10 squirrels.

As for difficulty, it is super short but it is surprisingly tough through the up sections! DR3.

As for dogs: they have signs posted that they are not allowed. Best to leave Fido at home.