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Lower Calf Creek
Falls Hike
By Steve Schmorleitz
Lower Calf Creek Falls is one of those surreal places
on this earth. Once you arrive at the pool at the base of the falls you
will feel like you have been transported into a dreamland oasis.
The 126 foot Lower Calf Creek Falls
can be reached by a 6 mile round trip hike over fairly level terrain. The
hike generally takes 3-4 hours on a developed sandy trail. Make sure to
bring your camera.
The BLM, whom administer the site,
charge a small usage fee ($2.00 during summer of 2001) to access the
area. Make sure to sign in at the trailhead. Grab a copy of the trail
guide brochure where you sign in. This guide is more interesting than
most. Numbered stakes along the way correspond with the numbers in the
guide. The guide will help you to spot some interesting attraction along
the route. I will mention some of those attractions throughout this
article.
Calf Creek flows year round. The
lush plant and wildlife makes this abundantly clear. Beaver dams and
ponds can be readily seen from the trail. While I was there I saw two
dark figures of what I thought were two people standing on the ridge near
the hogs back area.
Suddenly the figures jumped off the edge of the cliff above and soared
through the air. They were a pair of the endangered giant California
Condor birds. These birds wingspans can be as wide as nine feet!
Not only is plant and wildlife
abundant in this desert oasis, but evidence of human existence in Calf
Creek Canyon is available as well. As you hike you will have the
opportunity to see the ancient rock art of the Fremont people. They
flourished in the area from about 1100 –1400 AD. High in the nooks and
crannies of the cliffs above there are also a number of granary ruins
where these ancient ones stored their food out of reach of those animals
and people who might want to take it.
You will hear the water thundering
down the 126 foot falls before you can see them. The falls are located at
the end of a winding narrow desert canyon. As you hike the red, yellow
and white walls of the canyon tower above providing a constant change of
enchanting scenery.
The large pool at the base of Lower
Calf Creek Falls is a great place to refresh your body and soul after the
3-mile desert hike. The pool has a brisk coolness to it. Be ready for it
and you will enjoy the plunge.
When you return to your car take the
short trip of the Hogs Back. It is a short section of highway 12 just to
the east of the Calf Creek turnoff. The Hogs Back is a section of road
that follows the top of a narrow slick rock ridge. Along the shoulder of
each side of the road cliffs drop precariously into deep canyons below.
From the vista point along the Hogs Back you can view the Lower Calf Creek
trail that you have just finished hiking.
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Lower Calf Creek Falls

The view of Calf Creek from along the trail. This
photograph was taken at about 2/3rds of the way up the trail.

Sandstone and Slick Rock dominate the upper
landscape. Take time to notice evidence of wildlife on the canyon floor
and in the cliffs above. Notice the Beaver dam and pond in the lower right
area of this photograph (click to enlarge).

Water "thunders" over the 126' falls

Swimmers often enjoy the cool waters of the pool below the falls during
the warmer seasons of the year.

Above is the view of Calf Creek Canyon from the viewpoint along the
section of Utah Hwy 12 known as the Hogs back, a
section of road that follows the top of a narrow sandstone ridge. Along
the shoulder of each side of the road cliffs drop precariously into deep
canyons below. Panoramic views abound
along this scenic route. |