Kanarra Creek Falls

Kanarra Creek is an amazing hike just to the east of Kanarraville, Utah. There’s a good chance that you’ve seen photos of the picturesque waterfalls. They first part of the hike can be hot and dry, but the second half of the hike is amazing. In just two miles from a small town, you’ll find yourself in colorful narrows, clear creek water, and a beautiful water.

Kanarra Creek Falls

Distance – 3.5 miles (5.6 km) roundtrip to the 1st waterfall, 3.7 miles (6.0 km) roundtrip to the 2nd waterfall
Approximate hiking time – 3-5 hours
Elevation at Trailhead – 5625 feet
Elevation at lower waterfall – 6250 feet
Difficulty – Moderate, does require walking in creek bed with running water, rocks may be slippery
Trail – Dirt, rock, water
Amount of water recommended – 2 liters
Bathrooms – Porta-potties located at the trailhead/parking area
Season to hike – Year around
Prone to flash floods? – Yes
Permits – $10 cash self-pay at parking area
Pets: Not encouraged

How to get there:

Kanarra Creek is located in the town of Kanarraville, UT, which is 13 miles south of Cedar City on I-15. If coming north from Cedar City, take Exit 51 (Kanarraville/Hamilton Fort and drive to south on old US 91 into town. Turn left (east) onto 100 North. If coming from the south through St. George, take Exit 42, and turn onto UT 144/Old US 91. Follow it north, and 4.6 miles turn right (east)onto 100 North.

Once on 100 North the speed limit slows to 10 mph. After crossing 300 East the parking area will be on the left. There is a paved parking area as well as additional overflow parking. Do not continue up the dirt road. Be sure to pay $10 at the self-pay and put the receipt on your dash, or you will be ticketed or towed. (See the Google Map for this hike at the end of this post.)

What to Bring:

Here’s a free packing checklist

 

 

 

For this hike, I recommend wearing lightweight shoes with good traction and water drainage. My wife wore her Keen Newport H2 Sandals on this hike.

Special Considerations

First of all, this hike does pose a flash flood danger. As with any hike into a narrow canyon, diligently check the weather report, and if there is a chance for rain within 50-75 miles of the area, we recommend not going. It’s just not worth the risk.

Also, opinions may differ on the difficulty of the Kanarra Creek hike. We do not recommend this hike for young families, especially if they have multiple children under the age of 10. There are some parts of the trail that can be challenging for young children. Ultimately, you are the best judge of your child’s ability. We’ve come across some 8 year old children who didn’t have a problem at all, while others were complaining less than 15 minutes into the hike. As always, thoroughly research your hikes and come prepared.

The town of Kanarraville has been nice enough to allow access to this amazing hike. Be courteous in while driving through town, and pick up any litter you see along the way. Since this is a water hike, it would be a good idea to have some sort of dry bag or large ziplock bag for cameras, phones, etc, and hiking shoes with good grip.

Hitting the Trail!

Leave the parking lot and head up the dirt road that you see above the parking area. You’ll hike up this dirt/gravel road. The majority of your elevation gain for this hike will be in the first mile of the hike. As the gravel jeep road rounds to the right, you’ll see two water tanks on the left. You’ll then lose some elevation as you make your way to the first stream crossing, which is about .4 miles (0.6 km) from the trailhead. If you don’t want your shoes wet yet, there is a small metal grate that is on the right side of the shallow stream for you to use to cross, or if you have water shoes on, you can easily walk right through it, as it is only ankle to calf deep.

This first crossing gives you a glimpse as to what awaits ahead. About one mile into the hike, you’ll get to the next water crossing. Here, the creek and the jeep trail occupy the same space for a length of 250 feet. Here you need to make a decision. You can take the trail to the left of the creek that bypasses this creek part, or you can walk right up the creek bed/jeep trail. If you take the trail, there are some parts where the soil has eroded away. It’s nothing extreme, but you’ll be required to walk across a water pipe that is buried under the trail. It isn’t difficult for teenagers or adults, but little ones will need some help. (I find that most people opt to stay dry as possible at the beginning of the hike, so they take the path that bypasses the creek bed/jeep trail. On the way back, you’ll be so accustomed to walking through the creek bed, that you almost automatically take the creek bed/jeep trail.)

The bypass trail and the jeep trail will converge after only a couple hundred feet, and you’ll follow that for another .2 miles and you’ll come to another creek crossing. You’ll have to get your feet wet here. Kanarra Creek is only 8-12 inches deep, and 15 feet wide at this spot.

After crossing Kanarra Creek, you’ll continue up the jeep trail. You can follow the jeep trail until it runs along side a metal fence and becomes a just a hiking trail. This is where the trail gets interesting. From this point on, there is really no right or wrong trail to take. You’ll see that trails are on both sides of Kanarra Creek and both involve several creek crossings along the way.

Some parts of the trails have loose dirt and large rocks along the banks and require minor scrambling up and over exposed tree roots, so young child may need some assistance. As you crisscross your way up the trails and up Kanarra Creek, the walls will slowly rise, and portions of the hike will now be shaded by trees. After hiking about 1.7 miles from the trailhead, the walls abruptly rise over one hundred feet in the air, and the most beautiful and scenic part the Kanarra Creek starts. It feels like a miniature “Narrows” as you plunge into the tall, narrow, shaded, slot canyon carved over millenia by the forces of Kanarra Creek.

Amazing photos are to be had at this spot, as the colors of the canyon walls glow shades of red, orange, and yellow. Just a short .1 miles into the narrows section you’ll come to the photogenic first waterfall of Kanarra Creek. You’ll hear it before you’ll see it. While it is only 10-12 feet tall, it is a photographer’s dream. Some hikers make this their destination, and are content with taking photos of the waterfall, and then returning to the trailhead. There is large tree trunk that has sturdy metal rungs to climb up to bypass the waterfall. Many times there is also a rope tethered to the along the wall next to the tree trunk to aid hikers in climbing. The steps are wet and caution is necessary. This canyon does have flash floods and previous tree trunks used to scale past the waterfall have been washed downstream. (We found the previous tree trunk over a half mile downstream with the wooden steps still nailed into the trunk.)

For the those that proceed past the first waterfall, they will enjoy additional smaller waterfalls along the way. The next one is visible from the top of the first waterfall. It is easily bypassed on the right. Hikers can continue up the canyon as it opens up to a small, wide set of cascades. They are only 3-4 feet tall, and children can be seen sliding down them. There are some shade trees at this spot, as the canyon widens.

Shortly after the water slide falls the canyon walls tighten up again, and the water is usually calf or knee-deep. Even though you’ve passed a couple of small waterfalls, this next one is called “the second waterfall” mainly because it requires climbing up logs to scale past it. Most hikers stop here. There is not a nice set up to climb past the falls. When we’ve gone, it’s been different every time. The logs are very wet and slippery and there are no steps attached to the narrow trunks. Webbing and ropes have been attached to the canyon wall, but they can’t be counted on. If you do proceed, be sure to check the condition of the webbing and ropes before scaling the trunk.

If you decide to continue you’ll canyon walls will briefly widen before entering the last narrow section of Kanarra Creek. Once the through the last narrows section, the canyon walls will retreat and open up. This is a good spot to turnaround and head back. At this point you will have hiked a little over 2.0 miles (3.2 km).

Be very careful when descending down past the second waterfall, once past the waterfalls and out of the Kanarra Creek narrows, you’ll find that you’re much more comfortable following the creek down to the jeep trail and then back to the trailhead.

Enjoy the hike!

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