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

Photography

Hiking

Bathrooms

Easy Parking

Family Friendly

Scenic

Wildlife

Waterfalls

Donut Falls Reviews

Carly Thomas

Donut Falls

05/18/20

Lots of kids playing music and families I don’t recommend if you are looking for a peaceful hike.

2.0

Travis Poulson

Donut Falls

09/18/18

This place is nutso crowded on most weekends. The falls are unique and worth the crowds if you haven't taken the family there yet, but do not go on a holiday weekend. You will regret it!

3.0

Carley Prestwich

Donut Falls

09/03/17

Good in winter, way too crowded summer weekends -- summer=zoo early spring or winter is nice. Early spring so there was still some snow, which made it even better! Make sure you climb up to be under the falls. Nice short hike, pretty neat fall.

3.0

Cole Foard

Donut Falls

08/25/17

Its super easy and can get crowded but its one of the best hikes when your dragging up three little girls. The best time to hike the falls is in winter, the trail is well used so snowshoes aren't necessary and all the snow makes it even easier to hike up to the hole.

5.0

Ed Of The East

Donut Falls

08/23/17

We loved this trail. Nice gentle uphill most of the way easy enough for all of use. The reward at the top was worth it. We had a lovely break up top, feet in the cold stream enjoying the brilliantly clear fresh water and view.

5.0

Lyndsey Marie

Donut Falls

08/03/17

My BF just moved to SLC for a six month work stint. On one of my weekends visiting we decided to go for a hike and stumbled upon this article while searching Google. Thank you so much for the recommendation! Super easy hike with a very rewarding conclusion!

5.0

Leave No Trace

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

Nearby

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...

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...

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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...

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

Big Cottonwood Canyon Astrophotography

Backcountry Ski Cardiff Fork

Snowshoe to Cardiff Mine

Kessler Peak in Utah's Big Cottonwood Canyon

Hike Cardiff Fork

Hike Days Fork

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