Calf Creek (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument)
The Calf Creek Trail is the highlight of Calf Creek Recreation Area, a delightful desert oasis maintained by the Bureau of Land Management. The canyon is a haven for birds, beaver, and other wildlife, and it was also once inhabited by the Fremont and Anasazi Indians. Take a booklet with you from the trailhead to help you spot some of the Indian pictographs and two granaries that were constructed by the Indians some 800-1000 years ago. Also, be sure to take a swimming suit with you for use in the pool at the bottom of Lower Calf Creek Falls.
The Calf Creek Trail winds along
the west side of Calf Creek, a small desert stream surrounded
by vertical walls of white and pink Navajo Sandstone. Not surprisingly,
much of the trail is covered with loose sand. As the cliffs erode,
the ancient beds of sand from which the Navajo Sandstone was
originally made are slowly being returned to the canyon floor.
The dominant trees in the canyon are pinion and juniper, although
cottonwoods and box elders can also be found along the stream.
Many of the latter species show damage from beaver; you can scarcely
walk a hundred yards along the stream without seeing a beaver
dam.
About 0.9 mile from the trailhead
a small stone structure can be seen near the top of the cliffs
across the river. This is the remains of a granary built by the
Fremont or Anasazi Indians around 1100 A.D. to store the grain
they grew on the canyon floor. Another half mile upstream, closer
to the canyon floor, the Fremont Indians painted three large
ceremonial human figures in red. The coloring of these pictographs
is remarkably well preserved despite centuries of exposure to
the sun and rain. Still more pictographs and another granary
are visible in a small side canyon west of the creek about 1.6
miles from the trailhead.
Finally, after 2.7 miles, Calf
Creek Canyon abruptly dead ends against a 130-foot-high vertical
wall of Navajo sandstone, making it obvious that the end of the
hike has been reached. Here the creek emanates from the base
of the Lower Calf Creek Waterfall. The setting is beautiful,
with a sandy shore, large shade trees, and a clear pool below
the fall. Most hikers take an hour out for a swim here before
heading back.
Upper Calf Creek Falls
Yes, there is also an Upper Calf
Creek Falls, though it is not nearly as attractive as the lower
falls and the hike to it not as interesting. Nevertheless, if
you still have time and energy left after your hike to the lower
falls you may want to continue your exploration by hiking to
the upper falls.
To reach Upper Calf Creek Falls
you must return to Highway 12 and check your odometer at the
entrance to Calf Creek Campground. From that point, drive north
towards Boulder for 6.0 miles where you will see a rocky dirt
road taking off on the left. Follow this road for a short distance
to a wide, sandy clearing on the edge of the rim. The trail to
Upper Calf Creek Falls drops off the rim near a large pinyon
pine tree on the edge of the clearing. It is not a developed
trail, but the BLM has placed rock cairns along the route to
guide you to the falls. The upper falls are only about one mile
from the highway, but they are 600 feet lower in elevation and
the hike out can be tiring on a hot day.
Hike provided by www.utahtrails.com