Calf Creek Canyon

Calf Creek Canyon

Calf Creek Recreation Area (elev. 5,346, 1,629.5 m) has a 13-site campground, five individual picnic units, a group picnic area, and a trailhead for the 2¾ mile (4.4 km) one-way interpretive trail to the 126-foot Lower Calf Creek Falls.  The campground provides small sites on a first-come, first-served basis.  The day-use fee is $2 (for picnics, hiking, photos, etc.), the camping fee is $10 (subject to change).

The 2¾ mile hike from the campground to the lower falls is relatively easy - sandy, with little elevation change.  Hiking the upper falls is a different story - there are three main trails, all are significantly more difficult - they are described in the next paragraph.

The trailhead for the west side trail to the upper falls is at the end of an unmarked bumpy jeep trail crossing an airstrip from the junction of U12 and Hell's Backbone Road between mileposts 81 and 82.  The trailhead for the east side trail to the upper falls is on the west side of U12 south of Hell's Backbone.  Both trails are 1 mile, difficult, steep trails down slickrock canyon walls.  The 1½ mile trail through the rugged wilderness between the falls is possible for seasoned canyoneers.  All three trails intersect between the upper and lower falls.  These trails are shown on the Trails to the Falls map.

This article is about Calf Creek Canyon and Falls, for scenic photos of Scenic Byway 12 through the canyon, visit our Scenic Byway 12 article.

Select Photo Gallery to view individual photos.

View Photos is an auto-show of photos of Calf Creek Canyon and Calf Creek Lower and Upper Falls.

U12 Map shows the location of Calf Creek Canyon on Scenic Byway U12 between Escalante and Boulder.

CCRA Image is a Google Earth satellite image of the BLM campground.

Trails to the Falls is a map from Tom's Canyoneering of the trails to the Upper Falls.