Adams Canyon Waterfall
July 2, 2011 -- After hiking to the Waterfall Canyon below Malan’s peak in Ogden just a few weeks ago I still had waterfall hikes still in my blood. This year has been one of the wettest spring/summers on record and the water gushing off the mountains have been impressive.
Adams Canyon above Layton off Highway 89 is home to another beautiful waterfall here in Northern Utah.
We pulled into the trailhead and began our hike right at 6:45 a.m. We were one of four cars in the parking lot. The hike begins with some imposing and steep switchbacks over sand but you ascend quickly and are rewarded immediately with some amazing views of the valley.
After about 15 minutes we made the plateau and crossed the Bonneville Shoreline trail into Adams Canyon.
At this point the trail seems to level off a bit and soon you hear the rushing water and are parallel to the mountain stream gushing down the mountain.
Due to heavy use and gravity some sections of the trail disappear into the water and you are forced to scramble the rocks. It took a bit longer than my normal pace because I’m still nursing my knee following my knee reconstruction surgery in January.
We crossed the stream at a man-made foot bridge and from there it was some moderate/strenuous rock/path scrambling to the falls.
We reached the falls at 8:00 a.m. and the last hurdle was traversing the water one last time to get a great look at the falls. Like I mentioned the water has been high this year and a couple of hikers commented to us that they couldn’t reach the falls last week because of the water levels. Today however someone had forged the stream and left a rope to hold on to so we jumped in the freezing water and scrambled for a spectacular view.
We almost had the falls to ourselves which was awesome. Later over the next hour as we descended from the falls we were shocked with the shear number of hikers, families, dogs making their way past us to the falls; goes to show you – the early bird (hikers) get the worm (falls).
By the time we reached the parking lot the trailhead was full of cars, but I guess you can expect that for a Fourth of July weekend hike in Utah!
Ultimately Adams Canyon waterfall is an awesome hike and a great way to spend a Saturday morning!
Summary: 3.5 mile hike to an awesome 40 foot waterfall
Time: 2 hrs 15 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate with a couple of Strenuous
For more information about this hike visit here.
