Waterfalls are among the most worthy of hiking destinations and the appropriately called Waterfall Canyon is Weber County's premier spring hiking adventure with a 100-foot waterfall at the end of a relatively easy 1.5-mile hike.
The waterfall volume usually peaks in May and although the stream flows year round, the falls are most spectacular in the spring.This worthwhile trek takes only 45 minutes to an hour, one-way, for average hikers and the tree and bush cover over the last two-thirds of the hike provide plenty of shade and seclusion.
The trail is very well-used and accessible for anyone who can walk three miles and do occasional climbs up small slopes. Young children can make this hike but may need assistance in various locations since there are many rocks to climb up.
The trail follows the river (which has no official name other than Waterfall) the majority of the way up the canyon, with frequent side trails going up the hill to avoid the river's high spring runoff. It's the hiker's choice which fork is best.
Rocks along the river can also be slippery and this is a hike you can't do without getting a little wet. There's a dangerous place is at the base of the falls, where there are numerous loose rocks, some of them wet.
Sometimes called the "Arrow trail," painted white arrows are still visible on rocks along the path. Old pipes and cement dams, leftover from a time when Ogden City piped water here, are also visible along the trail.
Hikers should carry water and not drink from the stream or waterfall. Also, if hiking up Waterfall in the evening, it might be wise to take at least one flashlight.
There's a good, bird's-eye view of central Ogden from the base of the falls, but the waterfall is so vertical, it's difficult (as with Southern Utah's Calf Creek Falls) to get a photograph of it from top to bottom. The best photo location might be a rock slide area southwest of the falls.
The Waterfall stream comes off historic Malan's Basin and although some people are tempted to hike above the falls, this can be a very dangerous scramble. There is no set trail and the rock slide leading around to the base of the falls is steep and the loose rocks make coming back down more difficult than the climb up was.
This area above the falls is usually windy and has also proved fatal for some hikers. On Dec. 26, 1962, three kids, ages 7-9 - all children of Ogden physicians - fell 100 feet to their deaths from the top of falls. Speculation was they were holding hands crossing the creek and slipped together. At least one other person has also been seriously injured from a slip above the base of the falls.
A hike to Malan's Peak or Malan's Basin is best taken up Taylor Canyon, the next canyon to the north.
Scout troops have attempted to erect trailhead and information signs along the trail in the past, but vandals have destroyed them.
- TRAIL DIRECTIONS - Coming on I-15 to Ogden, take exit No. 344 and go east to Washington Blvd. and then onto 29th Street. (The falls are sometimes visible in the spring from West Ogden, if you know where to look on the mountainside.)
Waterfall Canyon is directly east of the rusted brown watertanks and 31st Street. Because of Mount Ogden Golf Course, the best place to begin the hike is at the top of 29th Street, where there's limited parking available at the rear of a high-rise apartment complex.
Cross the wooden fence, designed to keep motorized vehicles out and hike on the dirt, fire access road east toward the mountain and either stay on it or take a steep shortcut up the hillside. The sandy road heads south for about half a mile before curving up the mouth of Waterfall Canyon. Mountain bikers could ride 300 yards beyond this point, but afterward would face too many obstacles.