Donut Falls

Salt Lake City, Utah

4.1/5

based on 45 reviews

Save

View all 11 photos

All 11 photos

Save Review Directions Add Photo

Details

Distance

1.53 miles

Elevation Gain

413 ft

Route Type

Out-and-Back

Description

Added by Eric Bennett

Donut Falls is an out-and-back hike to an amazingly beautiful and picturesque waterfall. This trail, located in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, is good for all seasons with easy access to the trail.

The Trail

Follow the trail for just a little bit and when it forks, stay to the left and you will arrive to Donut Falls. Once at the waterfall, climb up the rocks to get to the cave at the top, which is not visible from the bottom. To take pictures inside of the cave, you will most likely get your feet wet.

This is a really short hike, so it's great if you are short on time and want to see something amazing.

Falls Coordinates: 40.629722, -111.654722

Getting There

Coming from the I-215, turn left on Big Cottonwood Road and the parking lot will be about nine miles up the road on your right. Usually the gate is closed, so park here and follow the rest of the road on foot until you get to a trailhead with restrooms on the left hand side.

Download the Outbound mobile app

Find adventures and camping on the go, share photos, use GPX tracks, and download maps for offline use.

Get the app

Download GPX File

Features

Photography

Hiking

Bathrooms

Easy Parking

Family Friendly

Scenic

Waterfall

Wildlife

Donut Falls Reviews

Michael Johnston

Donut Falls

03/17/16

A couple people said to simply "ignore the warning signs" and just go on up to the falls. This is NOT OKAY. A handful of people die at these waterfalls every summer. It is very tragic. You CAN go to the falls, just be wary that once you cross past those signs, there is a likely chance that you will be struck by a falling rock or boulder. Be wary of this if you choose to continue past the signs, be safe, and wear good shoes on the slick rocks.

5.0

Explorer

Rebecca Stubbs

Explorer

Donut Falls

12/11/15

I did this hike last weekend and it was sweet in the ice! I have done it in every season and there really is not a bad time to go. It is so short and easy that it can even be done combined with another hike up big cottonwood canyon.

4.0

Mariah Nogueira

Donut Falls

10/25/15

There's a sign that says "don't hike past this point, don't climb on rocks, don't go in the water". To get to the cave, you need to ignore all of these instructions and keep climbing to what appears to be the top. My husband and I assumed this must not have been the right waterfall and then kept hiking up looking for another until we saw from above that this was the right one after all. Easier to figure out once the rush came in, so keep this in mind for your first time and if you're alone.

4.0

Leave No Trace

Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

Nearby

Backcountry Ski Cardiff Fork

Drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon until you reach the Mill D South parking lot (aka Donut Falls parking). Head up the main road until you reach the bathrooms at the Donut Falls trailhead. Here you can either keep straight past the bathrooms, but the best way to go is to keep right along the road. You will follow this skin track and along the way you will pass a cabin and an old abandoned mine. Onc...

Snowshoe to Cardiff Mine

The trail starts from the same trailhead as Donut Falls which is extremely popular. In the winter, the gates are closed and you need to park just off the highway. Follow the road and crowds along the trail but once you cross the bridge continue straight ahead instead of following the trail that curves to the left. About 50 feet after leaving the trail, you will intersect with an old mining road...

Big Cottonwood Canyon Astrophotography

Located in the Wasatch Mountains, less 30 minutes from Salt Lake City, Big Cottonwood Canyon, provides some of the best rural dark-sky viewing of the Milky Way in the Wasatch.The Donut Falls trail head/Mill D trail head, close to the ski resorts of Brighton and Solitude, additionally provides one of the easiest (and most accessible) areas to view the stars year-round. The position of the canyon...

Kessler Peak in Utah's Big Cottonwood Canyon

Kessler Peak is a 10,403-foot peak located in Big Cottonwood Canyon. From the top, you can see all the way to the Uintas to the East, The tram at Snowbird to the south, and the Salt Lake Valley to the west. To the north is Mount Raymond and Gobblers Knob. Kessler Peak is the terminus and highest point of the north ridge from Mount Superior. There is nothing technically challenging about this...

Hike Cardiff Fork

Cardiff Fork and Donut Falls share the same parking lot, so depending on what time of week you go exploring here, it may be the most packed parking in all of the Wasatch. Head up on a weekday for less crowds. The Cardiff Fork trailhead is follows the rocky jeep road around the parking lot to the west and makes its way up the canyon. The trail is a wide jeep road pretty much the whole way up. K...

Hike Days Fork

To get to the trailhead drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Spruces Campground. Once in the parking lot, walk to the southwest corner of the parking lot and go up the road past the bathrooms. The trailhead will be next to the overgrown baseball field. The trail is awesome single track the whole way up to the top and never branches off so it's really easy to follow, you can't get lost. The trail ...

Donut Falls

Details

Description

Download the Outbound mobile app

Features

Donut Falls Reviews

Leave No Trace

Nearby

Backcountry Ski Cardiff Fork

Snowshoe to Cardiff Mine

Big Cottonwood Canyon Astrophotography

Kessler Peak in Utah's Big Cottonwood Canyon

Hike Cardiff Fork

Hike Days Fork

Discover

Community

Company

Follow Us

Mobile Apps