Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument is an amazing place to go visit.  There’s quite a few sights worth seeing.  Up until recently, my experience with the monument was very limited.  I felt it was time to expand out and add to my landscape photography portfolio at the same time.  So, I decided to go and see one of the best known parts of the monument: Lower Calf Creek Falls.  This waterfall is indeed a jewel of the monument.  Keep reading to learn more about my trip.

Research

After doing less research than I should have for my last trek, I made a point of doing as much research as I could about the trail.  I didn’t want any nasty surprises like needing to divert to a different and more difficult trail (there is no alternate trail for this site).  I found out just how glad I was for the research.  As of the time of writing, the National Park Service is in the beginning stages of overhauling the area around Lower Calf Creek Falls.  Apparently, it’s become so popular that they need to update services and add more parking.  The site will close to visitors for a couple months in summer, beginning in July.  I’m so happy I made my plans sooner than that.

My research told me that this is a longer hike (about 3 miles going 1 direction for a total of about 6 miles).  It would be relatively easy (save for the distance) with little in the way of total elevation gain (about 500 ft.).  This is all true.  I knew there would be some points of interest along the trail, including distant pictographs.  Again, all true.  Much of the trail is sand but there are parts where you hike on slick rock.  Once again, confirmed.

Points Missing in Research

What they don’t tell you is that you will do some climbing and descending as you hike.  Perhaps we should expect that as hikers.  Still, there are a few … interesting … places where you must carefully choose your footing.

What my research didn’t tell me about included just how scenic this hike is.  It parallels the creek.  This means you hike in a canyon.  That canyon is gorgeous!  The rock walls offer some layers of sandstone which could rival Zion National Park for color and beauty.  Plus you get to see lots of plants and trees along your route with occasional views of the creek itself.  Since we took the hike in May, the spring greens and flowers were out in show.  It was such a visual feast.  The hike into the waterfall alone could be a jewel of the monument.

The other thing my research didn’t tell me about were the mosquitoes.  I looked for our can of bug spray the night before, anticipating that bugs could be a problem, but couldn’t find it.  I lived to regret that.

As evening drew on, the mosquitoes attacked in force.  They were huge too.  I don’t know what species.  I found multiple bugs on my arms at multiple points.  It was so bad that I developed a paranoia to check my arms every minute or so for much of the hike.  Those bugs reinforced it.  I found at least 1 mosquito on my arms practically every time I checked.  Many times, I found multiple insects present.  A couple times, when I swatted them, my hand came back with my own blood on it.

My arms swelled up around the bites and required 2 nights of Benadryl to calm down and stop itching constantly.  A couple places were so swollen that I couldn’t tell just how many bites were there until the swelling dissipated.  If you can’t tell already, I hate mosquitoes.  That ended up being the most miserable part of the hike for me.  However, as things cooled off, the mosquitoes stopped swarming and I could concentrate more on the hike.

Arriving at Jewel of the Monument

Close to the end, we passed some other hikers leaving.  They told us that we had the place to ourselves.  There was no one else up there.  I liked that idea.  It meant I could take all the photos I wanted uninterrupted.  So, we kept going.

Once we crossed the only foot bridge on the path, we found ourselves next to a part of the stream where we could see fish.  There were trout visible.

Also at that point, we could hear the waterfall.  It sounded more like rapids to us at first.  There are some rocks nearby which the water passes over noisily.  But we were wrong.  It was the sound of a jewel of the monument itself: Lower Calf Creek Falls.  We’d arrived.

We knew we had the place to ourselves too.  One thing we noticed as we turned the corner and caught sight of the upper portion of the falls was there was a deer standing by the waterfall.  As you know, deer don’t like humans.  The place was deserted save for ourselves and I was loving it.

We passed through the trees and there it was.  A jewel of Escalante National Monument was there in front of us: the famous Lower Calf Creek Falls.  It was beautiful and we arrived just in time for golden hour too.

Photographing the Waterfall

I knew we had limited time at Lower Calf Creek Falls.  We arrived in time for perfect light.  However, we still needed to hike back out that 3 miles.  I knew it would be dark long before we reached the car.  I didn’t want to waste any more daylight than necessary as I wanted some on the return hike.  So, I got to work immediately.

I read that you can swim in the pool in front of the waterfall.  Perhaps you can, but not right then.  What I explored of the water was barely deep enough to wade in.  Perhaps the pool deepens closer to the falls.  However, I didn’t want to find out.  We didn’t bring swimwear anyways.

I attempted several different angles of this jewel of the monument.  After all, I didn’t want to miss something.  It was a long hike in.  The chances of returning for a second try are slim.  So, I did my best to capitalize on what I could.  I didn’t want to risk wet feet on the return hike, so I didn’t cross the pool for a view from the right side.  Still, what I did capture was beautiful.

After I completed my work with the camera, we turned back to the trail and returned back to the car.  Much of the return was uneventful thanks to night falling.

Behind-the-Scenes

With this particular hike, we took an enormous amount of BTS photos.  Many more than usual.  So, I thought I’d share them all together in a different way.  Here’s a gallery slider full of shots from our hike out to Lower Calf Creek Falls.

Conclusion

Lower Calf Creek Falls is indeed a jewel of Escalante National Monument.  If you can make the hike, it’s well worth your time.  Just remember that parking is a bit limited.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and love the photos I took.  They are great additions to my landscape photography portfolio.

So, now it’s your turn.  Have you ever been to Lower Calf Creek Falls?  Are you planning to go?  What was your experience like?  Please share in the comments section below.