Upper Falls near Provo, Utah was a perfect place to start our June 2025 hiking adventures. We landed at Salt Lake City airport late the night before, spent the night at Tru Hilton and were up and ready to begin our explorations. We based ourselves at Bryce Canyon but wanted to find a spot to break up the long drive.
Location
Upper Falls is located about an hour southwest of Salt Lake City Utah and also 20 minutes northeast of downtown Provo, Utah. There are several other waterfalls and hikes in this area so you could spend a day or two here.
Bridal Veil Falls
Right before the Upper Creek Trail you will drive past the beautiful three tiered Bridal Veil Falls. We stopped here to take some photos and also to enjoy the beauty of these falls. You can hike to the top of the Upper Bridal Falls but although tempting, we will save for another trip.
Upper Falls Trailhead
Less than a mile down the road you will find the parking area for the Upper Falls. The Upper Falls is a remote trail and you will not see any signs marking the way. All in all, if you know where to find this hidden trailhead it is easy enough to locate and follow.
We chose this particular hike as we thought it would be a good start to our hiking trip and also because we love waterfalls. I had read it was short, fairly easy and also just off the road. Short and just off the road yes, easy no. Some scrambling, loose rocks, remoteness, and also steep uphill make this a moderate to difficult hike. We were the only ones on this trail. We love this kind of hike so it worked out for us.
Cross the bridge and turn to your right.
After just a few steps you will come across a graffiti, concrete, abandoned building. On the far right side of the building there is a path. This is your trailhead!
The path ascends rather quickly. It is a rocky path and as you continue upward this path becomes more rocky.
You can tell this is a path, although not well marked or frequently traveled.
Continuing upward, there will be a rock field and some scrambling. The falls are at the end of the rock field.
Upper Falls
These falls are beautiful! Like most falls you can hear them from a distance which just builds the anticipation! In addition to the beauty, the fresh mountain air, cool breeze, and raw terrain add to the allure of these falls. Although a bit tough to reach, it was certainly worth the effort if you enjoy this type of hike.
The Way Down
As often is the case in these types of hikes, the way down was more difficult than the way up. Small loose rocks in places made it slick, we did lots of side stepping, and carefully checked our footing for stability before putting our full weight on larger stones. We found many loose stones, even large ones. That being said, as long as you are careful it is a very manageable trail.
Conclusion
Upper Falls near Provo, Utah is a short fun hike if you enjoy a bit of scrambling and rough rocky terrain. For us the waterfall was definitely worth the effort. Not a good hike though for those with knee, ankle, or mobility problems.
Planning For our Bryce Canyon, Escalante Trip
While planning for our trip to Bryce Canyon I referred to the Falcon Guide Book, Hiking Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. If you click on the link you can buy it through Amazon. I also bought a map, Bryce Canyon National Geographic Map, but you can also picked up from the lodge and it worked fine for the basics although not as extensive for hiking.
I also like the Falcon Guide Book for Escalante, Hiking Grand Staircase Escalante and Glen Canyon Region also from Amazon. Again, I used the National Geographic Grand Staircase Escalante Map for this as well. In Escalante especially, we lost GPS service for quite a bit of our time here. Although there are well marked signs, the map was a good tool to have.
Follow Me on Instagram!!
Click on the Below Links for More Utah Fun!
Zion National Park
Riverside Walk and The Narrows, Oct 2020
Emerald Pools in Zion, Oct 2020
Canyonlands National Park
Dead Horse Point State Park, Oct 2020
Elephant Hill Road, Canyonlands, Oct 2020
Hike the Joint Trail, Canyonlands, Oct 2020
Jeeping the White Rim Road, Canyolands Sept, 2020
Aztec Butte, Canyonlands, Sept 2020
Grand View Point and Grand View Hike, Sept 2020
Mesa Arch in Canyonlands, Utah, Sept 2020
Capitol Reef National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Hiking the Navajo and Peek-A-Boo trail in Bryce Canyon, Oct 2020
Sunrise and Sunset at Bryce Canyon, Utah, Oct 2020
Escalante National Park
Peek-a-Boo and Spooky Slot Canyons, Oct 2020
Arches National Park
Sunset at Arches National Park, Utah, Sept 2020
Ten Great Arches at Arches National Park, Utah, Aug 2016
Sign up for our Free NEWSLETTER for more travel news, tips and fun.
Discover more from Diary of a Gen-X Traveler
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Looks like a beautiful place to hike Lori. There must be so many Bridal Veil Falls in the world. You have to wonder who named them all…a male explorer dreaming of his upcoming nuptials or a wistful lass wanting to be married. I hear you on the descent, as walking on scree can be a hazard at any age. Happy weekend. Allan
We were just commenting on how many Bridal Veil falls we have visited and how many more there are!! Lori
But whose counting? Sad though that one has to find graffiti in such otherwise remote places. They should leave that crap in the city.
Seems like it is everywhere these days. Some call it art. I don’t care for it.
Gorgeous! I’ve only dipped my toes into Utah with Bryce and Zion National Parks, so to see more of the state would be rewarding. Upper Falls in Provo looks like a challenging, but fun hike. Glad you got awesome views in the end!
It was a great way to start our hiking trip
It wa a great way to start our hiking trip!
Ha, I was also just saying that there are a lot of Bridal Veil Falls. For example, one near us in the Catalina Mountains of Tucson. (Not to be confused with Bridal Wreath Falls, in Saguaro National Park East, Tucson.) Nice post!
It certainly is not a unique name for a waterfall!
nice👍
It was a pretty hike!
This looks like an adventurous and scenic hike. How lovely to have the trail all to yourselves. Love the views of the upper falls.
It was a fun adventure!
Amazing hike; and definitely looks like you earned a few drinks and lots of food after this one!!
Luckily it was a short one!
Thanks for sharing! Loved your clear descriptions and practical tips about the hidden trailhead and tricky descent. The waterfall sounds like a real reward at the end. Definitely adding this hike to my Utah trip list!
Utah is an amazing place to hike! We hiked Utah in 2020 and 2016 so we were excited to return this year!
That’s awesome, Lori! Sounds like you’ve built a great connection with Utah’s trails over the years. I can see why you keep going back—such a stunning place to explore!
Hoping to return again someday!