Donut Falls

Salt Lake City, Utah

4.1/5

based on 45 reviews

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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.

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Features

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Hiking

Bathrooms

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Waterfall

Wildlife

Donut Falls Reviews

L R

Donut Falls

06/15/16

Arrived at 10:00am on a Tuesday and the hike was packed with families w/young children. There was a 5 min wait/line to see the waterfall. The hike to the waterfall is really easy, the climb to the top of the falls is more difficult. Slippery and vertical. Advise wearing shoes with good traction if you plan to climb up the rocks to the top of the falls. Your shoes will also get wet.

3.0

Jordan Smith

Donut Falls

06/10/16

Donut falls is awesome! Be prepared to scramble up to the falls at the end. Do not hike this on Memorial Day, haha. I did and it was slammed. I didn't even attempt to get up to the falls , but earlier spring, late fall, or during the week, you'll have a great experience. Unique waterfall and beautiful trail.

5.0

Explorer

Eric Harris

Explorer

Donut Falls

05/30/16

This is an awesome hike in the winter. Snowshoes aren't essential but we brought them and were glad we had them. The entrance to the cave was dug out of the snow and it was easy to crawl in. The waterfall is beautiful with snow and ice surrounding it! There were still some crowds on the weekend but it was much quieter than the summer months.

5.0

Leave No Trace

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

Nearby

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...

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...

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

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Donut Falls Reviews

Leave No Trace

Nearby

Kessler Peak in Utah's Big Cottonwood Canyon

Backcountry Ski Cardiff Fork

Snowshoe to Cardiff Mine

Big Cottonwood Canyon Astrophotography

Hike Cardiff Fork

Hike Days Fork

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