Stewart Falls

Stewart Falls is popular hike in Sundance Utah – yes the location of Sundance Film Festival. The trailhead is about 1 hour from Salt Lake City on the back side of Mount Timpanogos. In total the hike is approximately 3.4 miles round trip and only has 646 feet elevation gain. I have tracked it twice at closer to 5 miles. The trail map is available on All Trails, as always. Winter and I started from Aspen Grove but you can also get to the Falls from Sundance.

Stewart Falls from Aspen Grove

The Aspen Grove Stewart Falls trailhead is shared with the *shorter* trail to the top of Mount Timpanogos (its still over 12 miles round trip). When we hiked in late March 2021 there was still a decent amount of snow on the ground along the entire trail. You start out uphill, but the trail quickly flattens out and provides panoramic views of Sundance and the Timpanogos Wilderness. Plus there is plenty of aspen tree groves and open fields for the wildflowers in the spring and Winter to run around in. If you looked closely you could see the skiers at the Sundance resort enjoying the mountain.

When you get about 1.5 miles into the trail you round a corner and can see Stewart Falls, or Stewart Cascades, in the distance. When I was hiking the trail this is also where the snow turned to slush and mud. Winter was in heaven to say the least. But my motto has always been a dirty dog is a happy dog. Its nothing a bath cannot fix. The views of the falls when we got there were gorgeous. I also ventured down to the base of the falls to let Winter play in the stream and enjoy a quick snack.

This is an out and back trail, so the hike back was just a quick as the hike there. In total it took Winter and I about 2 hours of hiking. We enjoyed the views of Stewart Falls for about 30 minutes in that time as all.

Before you go

If you want to do this hike during the winter season you will have to access it from Provo Canyon. During the summer months you can also get to the trailhead from American Fork Canyon. However in the winter months this route is closed. The trail head is just past the rear fee station for American Fork Canyon – so be prepared to pay the $6 fee regardless of how you get to the Aspen Grove Trailhead. All the fees go toward improving the recreation areas throughout American Fork Canyon. If you have a National Parks Pass (or “America the Beautiful” pass) you can skip the fees because this pass covers national forests as well! Information on that is located on the National Forest Service website.

Enjoying all of Winter and my adventures? Check out more hiking and trips we have taken on our archives page! More hikes from across Utah are also featured here!