Hiking Lower Calf Creek Falls in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah

We drove from Escalante to hike the Lower Calf Creek Falls waterfall.

This beautiful hike is 6.7 miles roundtrip.

It's located in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

As we pulled into the parking lot, we went over to and filled out a form and paid $5 cash to park for the day.

Then we followed the paved road past camp sites to get to the trailhead. The trailhead was located on the left hand side of the road.

The trail takes you along an amazing canyon of red rocks.

It finally ends at the Lower Calf Creek Waterfall.

As you get close you can feel the spray and mist in the air from this waterfall.

We sat down and ate our lunch and enjoyed the beautiful view.

The hike back was just as amazing as I was still seeing things I didn't notice on the way in.

I would highly recommend this hike and I can't wait to do it again.

The entrance to Lower Calf Creek Falls Parking Lot shows the fees and it says that RVs over 25 feet are not recommended.

This is the view of the Lower Calf Creek Falls parking lot and bathrooms. When we went in March, these bathroom were not open. You had to go down the road, cross a bridge and there was an open bathroom to the left. I would imagine that they open these bathrooms for the summer.

At the end of the parking lot you will see a box that says "Take Fee Envelope". You fill it out, tear off your receipt and put it in the dash of your car, and put $5 cash in the envelope. Then you deposit the envelope into the stand below it.

You follow the paved road past a lot of campsites and then you'll see the Lower Calf Creek Falls Trailhead on your left. Go to the left and follow the trail.

As we started hiking I kept noticing purple cactus plants. I had only seen green before, so the purple cactus was something new for me!

The red rock along the trail was amazing! That's one thing I love about hiking in Utah.

I was not expecting to see a bench on the trail. This is the only one, but if you need a rest you can sit down and enjoy the views.

At the end of the trail the Lower Calf Creek Waterfall comes into view. I could feel the mist from the waterfall!

After eating our lunch and just hanging out we decided to head back. We enjoyed the hike back just as much as we saw things that we didn't notice on our way in.

This was an amazing hike and we can't wait to do it again. Next time we want to go in the summer so it will be warmer to go swimming.

Lower Calf Creek Falls Trailhead and Parking Area Map:

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

It costs $5 per vehicle to park at the Lower Calf Creek Falls parking lot/trailhead. Make sure you bring cash as they only accept cash in an envelope.

It costs $15 per night to camp.

Total cost for this hike: $5 for parking

These are the checklist items I recommend:

• Bring a plenty of water and some snacks
• Bring a hat to keep the sun off of your face.
• You can swim in the water by the falls so make sure you bring a towel or something to dry off.
• Go Pro Hero 9 Black video camera
• Go Pro 3-Way Grip to hold the camera out in front of you.

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