Ghost Falls Hike

Ghost Falls

This is a nice little fall hike. The leaves are changing and the weather is nice and cool. In Spring, it would be muddy, and summer way too hot. Unfortunately, we had a bad experience with it. First, the directions we got from the Internet were very bad. They led us to two different places-- both of them wrong. Even with the iphone and GPS, we spent 45 minutes looking for the trailhead. Then, the trail is not well marked and spider webs all over the place, causing significant confusion. These factors caused our little ones to lose focus on the hike and it quickly lost its luster. We'll try to help you find where you're going a little easier, so you don't face these same trials.

The baby was the only one too little to be frustrated with the directions.

First of all, there are 2 trailheads. The longer trail starts just behind the Draper LDS Temple and climbs up a small canyon to the falls. This trailhead also has 2 routes. The second trailhead starts above the falls and climbs steeply down to the falls. We'll start with the longer trail from the bottom. To access the trailhead, ignore everything you read on any other website, and just drive to the Draper Temple. Behind the Temple parking lot is a road that circles the temple along the ridge. It changes names several times, but if you go directly through the temple parking lot and turn right, you'll hit Gray Fox Drive. Turn right and you should find Coyote Hollow Court on your left. The trailhead begins at a small parking lot at the end of the court. The trail here is roughly 1.5 miles depending on your route to the falls. (That means 3 miles round trip).

The leaves are gorgeous in September

The spider web of trails begins here, but we navigated it with a little difficulty. As you drop off the ridge, stay to your left. You'll wind up in the bottom of the canyon on a wide, flat trail lined by huge boulders on either side. This trail is called Coyote Hollow Trail, and is the main trail. Follow this trail until you get to a sign on the left that says something like: Do not use this trail when muddy. (Pass the Burnham Loop Trail twice, and if you get to the bridge, you went about 50 yards too far). You better hope the trail is not muddy, because that's the way you need to go. (There is another route, described below, but it does not go through the shade trees and climbs the ridge much more steeply.) "Muddy Trail" loops up around and eventually crosses a bridge and comes to a very clear sign. The sign says go right to Ghost Falls, which is correct. The last hike up to the falls is easy. You'll want to watch out for mountain bikers on all these trails, though, because they won't be watching out for you!

Alternate route: Pass the "Muddy Trail" sign and cross the bridge. You'll be on the bare face on the opposite side of the canyon. It's steeper, dustier, rockier, and less shady here, but you eventually come to the sign near the other bridge for Ghost Falls.

This lizard (look close) was one of three animals we saw.
There was a deer, another lizard, and a few squirrels.

To approach the falls from the top, don't go to the temple at all. Instead, take exit 14400 South off of 1-15. You will find yourself on Highland Drive. Follow Highland Drive east for 4.6 miles until you come to a sign for Orson Smith Trail Head Park. There is a parking lot, but also a dirt road back to the right. A sign says high-clearance vehicles are recommended. The road would be pretty rough in a car, but we made it in our van and we passed two SUVs. It's 2.5 miles to the trailhead and there are a few really rough spots, so it takes a little while. It was a gorgeous drive (the leaves are perfect in late September) and you have a great view of the valley and the east side of the temple. There is a sign when you reach the Ghost Falls trailhead, as well as a bathroom. We didn't hike it from this side, but plan to soon. We talked to some people who did and they said it was shady and short (only .7 miles), but steep. So going back uphill to your car would be somewhat strenuous.

The falls are called Ghost Falls because sometimes they disappear entirely. They are really very beautiful and kid-friendly. Take a towel and some flip-flops to maximize your experience as the kids will want to play in the water. (By the way, that trail that climbs steeply up on the left side of the falls goes nowhere and leads to almost nothing).

Ghost Falls is the perfect place for the kids to wade

Our overall recommendation is to do this hike from behind the temple and make sure to take "Muddy Trail." It's shady and slightly uphill-- a nice walk for youngsters.

Note: We were alerted to this hike by one of our favorite sites: Enjoy Utah!