Stairs Gulch

Stairs Gulch--see the water coming down in stair like  sections?

Our family loves hikes. The boys, just 6, 3, and a few months enjoy being outside and walking along the trail. We've found that they do better still if there is a destination at the end. Waterfalls are easily their favorite. That's the reason we have a special tab on the side just for waterfalls.

Our latest waterfall adventure was up Big Cottonwood Canyon. We'd heard of a small waterfall just off the road called Hidden Falls. We paired that short walk with a more difficult hike to another cascade called Stairs Gulch.

No hike is complete without a good walking stick.

If you come to this huge shale slide shortly after you start your hike. you are in the right spot!

Stairs Gulch is much different than any falls we've seen. It is more like, well, stairs than a big waterfall. There is no big drop off point, just many tiny cascades that drop off small ledges and tumble over rocks. The gulch is very steep and rocky, and the hike is somewhat strenuous, though our three year old made the uphill hike. (We held hands or carried him on the way down after he took a tumble.) The hike is short, and extremely beautiful, particularly in the fall when the leaves are red. The other thing we liked about this hike is the sheer granite walls, complete with mountain climbers, that tower all around. I'm pretty sure this is mountain goat country.

One of the prettiest trails we have seen.

Sometimes I like to prove that mom comes, too!

About half a mile up the trail, you'll begin to hear the waterfall off to your right. You can take any of a number of sorties through the brush to see the 1-6 foot cascades that continue up the canyon for another quarter mile. If you're feeling agile, you can leave the trail permanently and rock-hop up the creek following the cascades. The total roundtrip is around 1.3 miles, but this hike could range anywhere from 1 mile roundtrip to much further depending on how adventurous you are.

One of the small falls we branched off to see.

The hike is great for adventurous boys.

Another falls

To access the trailhead, drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon 2.8 miles to the Storm Mountain Picnic Area parking lot. Park directly across the street from the lot (there's room for 2 or 3 cars). The trail starts there on the south (right) side of the road. If there is no room, you can drive another block up the road and park near the sign that explains storm mountain quartzite.