Three Falls Trail
– By Tom Garrison –
Location: Gould Wash in the city of Hurricane, Utah
Difficulty: Moderately strenuous due to some serious rock scrambling up a steep slope near the first fall and an often rocky trail.
Trail Length: Approximately 2.8 miles round trip.
Average Hiking Time: About two hours at a leisurely pace with much time for exploring and taking photos.
Elevation: The trailhead is 3,215 feet in elevation with an approximately 250 feet elevation change from the trailhead to the highest point.
Family Friendly: To the first fall, okay. The strenuous uphill rock scrambling between the first and second falls is not for young children.
Getting There: To reach the trailhead from St. George, proceed east to Hurricane along State Route 9 (aka State Street). In Hurricane, turn right (south) onto Main Street. Continue south on Main Street for approximately .4 mile and then turn left (east) onto 400 South. Very quickly, about one block, turn right (south) onto 60 East Street. About .2 mile later the street becomes a gravel/dirt road. At that point is a large sign on the right reading “Three Falls Trailhead” with an arrow pointing ahead. Another .2 mile ahead (.4 mile from the 400 South turnoff) on the dirt/gravel road is the trailhead and a large parking area. The trailhead has a sign indicating the distances to each of the three waterfalls.
Desert waterfalls, while not rare, are a special treat. This hike, Three Falls Trail along Gould Wash in Hurricane, features waterfalls (three) and colorful canyon walls. My wife, Deb, and I love desert hiking, especially canyons and waterfalls—this is perfect. The falls are often dry, as they were on our visit, but still spectacular.
We parked and began our trek along Three Falls Trail about 9:00 am under hazy blue sky that became deep Utah blue later on with the temperature in the low 70s. The trailhead elevation is 3,215 feet with about a 250 feet elevation change during the hike.
It had rained a couple of days earlier, but not enough for the falls to have running water. All we found were a few places with wet sand above the first fall. We entered sandy Gould’s Wash and quickly reached the first dry fall, an easy .33 mile walk from the trailhead in a dry river bed. Looking to our right across the wash in this first part of the trail you can see stacked rocks a couple of hundred yards long, forming a small section of an old water canal.
The first falls was surrounded by reddish and black rugged mountains with a large sandy area below the fall where, in wetter times, there would be a large pool of water.
Be aware that this first section of the trail has several user trails branching off and intersecting the main trail and no trail signs. While I encourage exploring, be sure to know your surroundings and how to return to the main trail.
Before reaching the base of the first waterfall, the trail goes up the side of the canyon to the left of the falls. This section, crossing up and over the first fall, is very steep and covered with small loose rocks. It makes footing difficult and slipping and sliding are common as I quickly discovered. Also add in some scrambling over larger rocks.
Between the first and second falls are a bunch of small caves in the rock face to our left. I imagine some creatures make the caves their home.
Once over the steep section, the trail descends into the wash and winds through the canyon bottom with some boulder hopping and loose sand. The second fall is a little more than ½ mile (.54 mile) from the trailhead and is concealed in a jumble of gigantic rocks.
We mostly avoided walking in the sandy boulder-strewn wash and kept to a trail on our left about 10 to 20 or so feet above the wash—much easier and faster. Although easier and faster is relative, the trail was mostly rocky, but not as bad as the wash.
The hike to the third dry fall featured many vistas of the multi-hued high canyon walls. Along the way we saw a few lizards, probably out eating the plethora of ants scurrying about. And the birds flying around, probably looking for a lizard lunch.
The trail ended 1.4 miles from the trailhead at the bottom of a striking dry fall. It must be at least 150 feet high, surrounded on three sides by near vertical red and orange rock walls. Very impressive.
What we didn’t see much of on our adventure was people. We encountered a few on our way back down the steep section near the first fall. Other than that, we had the trail to ourselves.
This hike is a good close-by workout with colorful canyon walls and three dry falls. It is less than three miles round trip, but part of that is steep and rocky. Get those legs in shape.
