March 23, 2022

By Tim Briese

2.7 miles, 700’ elevation gain, 2:40 roundtrip time

While on my way to Escalante on my Utah spring hiking trip I hiked to Upper Calf Creek Falls. From scenic UT Hwy. 12 I turned west onto an unmarked dirt road about 0.2 miles south of mile marker 81. A short drive of about 200 yards brought me to a parking area for the signed trailhead for the falls. There were two other vehicles there on this bright sunny morning. I headed west on the trail and abruptly came to the rim of the plateau and looked down into a vast scenic canyon that held Calf Creek, some 700 feet below.

the route goes down the rock at the right toward the canyon bottom at the upper left

The initial descent down the steep sandstone slickrock was reputed to be intimidating to inexperienced hikers but I found that I could friction walk down it with no problem. The common name of "slickrock" for Utah’s sandstone is somewhat of a misnomer because it actually provides excellent traction when one wears decent footwear.

looking back up at the initial part of the route

looking back up at the rim from further down the route

I quickly descended on the slickrock and when the slope eased the trail had frequent sandy sections.

i followed the trail at the right down toward the bottom of the canyon

After some distance I reached the rim of the inner gorge of the canyon and followed the trail along the rim northwest for a few hundred yards. I came to a fork in the trail where the branch to the right led to a pool above the falls and the one to the left led down into the canyon and the base of the falls. I first went down into the canyon to the falls, which were gracefully dropping 90 feet over a cliff. The soft sound of the water was soothing to the soul. I had the place all to myself this morning.

upper calf creek falls

view of the falls from the side

colorful patterns on the wall

After enjoying this charming spot for a few minutes I hiked back up the trail and went to the pool above the falls. A pleasant cascade of water flowed into the cool, mossy pool, singing in gentle exuberance. This was an enchanting place, and I sat on the slickrock beside the pool for a while soaking up the experience. This water in the arid desert was a refreshing and unexpected life-giving anomaly, and the sound of its gracefully flowing movement was a peaceful melody.

approaching the top of the waterfall and the pool above it

the pool above the waterfall

i sat here and watched and listened for a while

After a while I explored upstream a bit and it's a good thing I did, for a couple of hundred feet beyond the first pool I found a second pool hidden behind some bushes, with a lovely ten foot waterfall pouring into it. Again, I had complete solitude at the pools as I had below the main waterfall.

the second pool above the falls

the view further up the canyon above the pools

Eventually I took my leave and proceeded back on the trail, and encountered three or four parties of hikers on their way down. This was a short, enchanting hike, well worth the effort.