Donut Falls

Salt Lake City, Utah

4.1/5

based on 44 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

Photography

Hiking

Bathrooms

Easy Parking

Family Friendly

Scenic

Waterfall

Wildlife

Reviews

Explorer

Shalee Blackmer

Explorer

Donut Falls

04/20/17

And easy but scenic hike. We went on a weekday which turned out to be perfect because we had the place all to ourselves (we heard it's usually crowded). There was still snow covering the entire trail but in my opinion it only made the hike prettier! Great place just a short drive from Salt Lake City.

4.0

Adam Morrow

Donut Falls

04/17/17

There was still quite a bit of snow on the hike up, but it was very packed down and crusty. Icy and slick in a few spots. We went early Saturday morning and it was not crowded at all.

5.0

Michaela Velarde

Donut Falls

04/12/17

Fun for the whole family. Mildly disappointed there were no actual doughnuts.

4.0

Leave No Trace

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

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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...

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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...

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Donut Falls

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Leave No Trace

Nearby

Backcountry Ski Cardiff Fork

Kessler Peak in Utah's Big Cottonwood Canyon

Snowshoe to Cardiff Mine

Big Cottonwood Canyon Astrophotography

Hike Cardiff Fork

Hike Days Fork

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