March through May is snow melt season on Utah, which also means it is waterfall season! Horsetail Falls did not disappoint. We were initially looking for an easy “walk in the woods”, but the trail we picked turned out not dog friendly. So the game plan changed and we were off to Horsetail Falls. The trail we took on the south side of the creek is 4.6 miles r/t with 1,600 feet of elevation. Check out the trail map on AllTrails. The hike is rated hard, rightfully so since the elevation gain is consistently up to a 20% grade.
Hiking to Horsetail Falls
First off the trailhead is at the back of the super ritzy Alpine, UT neighborhoods. My friend and I were dreaming about being able to own the houses we drove past. The trailhead doesn’t offer any vault toilets and is pretty large. At the start of the hike there were only 6 other cars in the parking lot. By the end we were the only ones out on the trail.
The hike starts out fairly exposed, and but we slowly made our way into the trees. We even saw a few primitive camp sites up the trail. Including an awesome meadow to camp in for beginner backpackers. As we got closer to Horsetail Falls there were several springs and streams to cross, which the dogs loved playing in.
The second trail split to the right takes you back toward Box Elder Summit. I hiked that summit in Fall 2021 from another trail head. Then shortly after that there is a split to continue straight or break off to the right down a steep bank toward the base of the waterfall. We opted to first continue straight to go to the top of Horsetail Falls. This added about 0.5 miles r/t and a few hundred feet of elevation but was totally worth the extra bit of hiking.
We turned back at this point and headed back down, taking that split to the base of the falls. This split is not labeled, but easy to see with the purple rope that is installed to help you get up and down the steep bank. The views at the base of horsetail falls were amazing. Both of the waterfall and looking back at the canyon. We stopped for a lunch snack and group pup photos, per usual, then continued back down the trail to the car.
Overall, including the 30 minute stop at the base of Horsetail Falls and the extra bit of hiking to the top of the falls, we hiked about 3.5 hours. Another highly recommended Utah hike in the bag for Winter and I.
Before you go
The great things about this trail include that it is part of the Lone Peak Wilderness on the Wasatch Front. It is easy to access, and best of all FREE and dog friendly. We hiked the trail on a Friday, so we avoided the weekend crowds. However, given the rating of hard, I imagine the trail is not a heavily trafficked trail on the weekends.
Like I mentioned up top, there are a few trail options to get to the base of Horsetail Falls, and you can even make it a loop hiking on the south side of the creek and then back on the north side. For some easier hiking options in the area check out Battle Creek Falls. Or for some even harder options, there are plenty of backpacking point to point options that take you into American Fork Canyon around or even over Box Elder Peak.
For more of our Utah adventures, check out my Utah specific blog page! If you are looking for something else, check out the archives or menu at the top.