Utah Waterfalls

Utah has a number of beautiful waterfalls throughout the state. All of the ones I've visited are in or around Zion National Park in the southwest corner of the state.

Emerald Pools Waterfall:

Trailhead GPS: 37.25251,-112.95616 (Shuttle Stop #5 - Zion Lodge)

Waterfall GPS: 37.25749,-112.96242

Emerald Pools Waterfall is a that flows between the middle and lower Emerald Pools in Washington County. The waterfall is located in Zion National Park. The hike to the falls is about a mile round trip and easy.

To visit the falls, head to the Zion Lodge trailhead in Zion Canyon. Most of the year, private vehicles are prohibited from the canyon, so take the shuttle to stop #5 - Zion Lodge. Cross the street from the lodge and take the pedestrian bridge over Virgin River. Across, turn right on Lower Emerald Pools Trail and follow this easy paved trail for about a half-mile to Lower Emerald Pools. The waterfall tumbles down from the ledge above. There are actually two falls - one from each of the middle pools. We visited in very dry condition and only one was really flowing.

Eye of the Needle Falls

Eye of the Needle is a 100-foot waterfall on South Fork Oak Creek in Washington County. The waterfall is located in private property and the only way to visit is to do the Extreme Canyoneering tour with Zion Adventure Company. The waterfall is about half way through the canyon. The Eye of the Needle is the natural arch about two-thirds of the way down the waterfall.

Mystery Canyon Falls:

Trailhead GPS: 37.28517,-112.94753 (Shuttle Stop #9 - Temple of Sinawava)

Waterfall GPS: 37.29925,-112.94441

Mystery Canyon Falls is a 100-foot waterfall on the tributary in Mystery Canyon in Washington County. The waterfall is located in Zion National Park. The hike to the waterfall is about 3 miles round trip, but is part of the longer Narrows Hike.

To visit the falls, head to the Temple of Sinawava trailhead in Zion Canyon. Most of the year, private vehicles are prohibited from the canyon, so take the shuttle to stop #9 - Temple of Sinawava, as far up-canyon as the shuttle goes. The paved Riverside Walk picks up past the restroom and is easy for 1 mile. At the end, you'll need to get in the river and wade upstream about a half-mile to where Mystery Canyon ends in the Narrows and the waterfall tumbles down into North Fork Virgin River. The water level was low when we visited in the fall, but the colors were very pretty.

Pine Creek Falls:

Trailhead GPS: 37.21661,-112.96555 (Pull-off on UT-9)

Waterfall GPS: 37.21679,-112.96034

Pine Creek Falls is a 30-foot waterfall on its namesake creek in Washington County. The waterfall is located in Zion National Park. The hike to the waterfall is about a half-mile round trip and fairly difficult, requiring rock scrambling or wading a deep pool.

To visit the falls, head into Zion National Park on UT-9, passing the visitor center. At Canyon Junction, stay straight on UT-9 and drive to a pull-off in the first switchback on the road. From here, an obvious path heads towards Pine Creek and follows the creek upstream. As you get near the waterfall, the path disappears and you'll have to navigate past a deep pool. We were able to scramble up on the rock face on the river-left side to get around the pool. Continuing upstream, you'll need to squeeze through an opening between two rocks to reach the base of the waterfall. We visited in low water and I thought it was still a nice waterfall.

South Fork Oak Creek Upper Waterfall

Upper Waterfall on South Fork Oak Creek is the uppermost waterfall on South Fork Oak Creek in Washington County. The waterfall is located in private property and the only way to visit is to do the Extreme Canyoneering tour with Zion Adventure Company. This is the first waterfall when you rappel into the canyon.

South Fork Oak Creek Waterfall

Waterfall on South Fork Oak Creek is a 60-foot on South Fork Oak Creek in Washington County. The waterfall is located in private property and the only way to visit is to do the Extreme Canyoneering tour with Zion Adventure Company. After you enter the canyon, you'll rappel down a couple smaller waterfalls before reaching this big one. There was a skunk at the base of this one and it was rather deep water, so I couldn't get much of a picture.

South Fork Oak Creek Lower Waterfall:

Lower Waterfall on South Fork Oak Creek is a 30-foot on South Fork Oak Creek in Washington County. The waterfall is located in private property and the only way to visit is to do the Extreme Canyoneering tour with Zion Adventure Company. This is the last significant waterfall in the canyon before the confluence with Oak Creek.

Weeping Rock:

Trailhead GPS: 37.27087,-112.93950 (Shuttle Stop #7 - Weeping Rock)

Waterfall GPS: 37.27113,-112.93650

Weeping Rock is a seasonal waterfall on a tributary of Virgin River in Washington County. The waterfall is located in Zion National Park. The hike to the falls is under a half-mile round trip and easy, though there is about 100 feet of elevation gain.

To visit the falls, head to the Weeping Rock trailhead in Zion Canyon. Most of the year, private vehicles are prohibited from the canyon, so take the shuttle to stop #7 - Weeping Rock. The paved trail picks up at the far end of the parking lot and makes an immediate left. It's less than a quarter mile to the end at Weeping Rock. Water seeps through permeable layers of rock and "weeps" out where it hits impermeable layers. In normal times, it's not much of waterfall, but pretty cool nonetheless; it was barely a trickle when we've visited. I've seen pictures right after a heavy rain and it's quite an impressive waterfall if you're lucky enough to visit at the right time.