Hiking Horse-tail Falls - right on!
- Girls Gone Adventuring
- Jan 19, 2018
- 3 min read
So this was originally supposed to be titled something like "Hiking to the hot pots - party on!" but then the road to the hot pots was closed so flexibility was the name of the game and we opted for a winter hike instead :) This, my friends, ended up being a great call - the weather was gorgeous in Utah County today and we had some beautiful views of the valley!
The trailhead to Horsetail Falls is super easy to find, just head up to Alpine, Utah and follow Grove Drive until it ends at the trailhead parking lot. (Click here for directions to the trailhead from Girl On a Hike) With the crazy 'no-snow' weather lately (ski resorts have to be HATING this!) we weren't sure what we'd find on this trail, mud - snow - ice - dirt... It ended up being a little of everything! The beginning of the trail was mostly dirt and rocks, but as we got up higher on the mountain we ran into lots of ice and snow. Our awesome off-site guide Caroline Welsh recommended using yax-trax ("you won't make it up without them")...(click here for yaxtrax info) so we made a quick pit-stop to grab a pair and headed out.
Guys these things are a-maze-ing!! They're like little grippy frog feet, we were hiking up and down super icy stretches on a fairly steep trail and didn't slip AT ALL. We legit saw a guy RUNNING up the trail in these things, on the ice, without missing a beat. Yah, he was a rock-star.
The trail was fairly steep and we definitely stopped for water breaks, to catch our breath, and to 'horse around' (hahaha). Our good friend Heather Jones joined us on this Adventure and we may have had a little too much fun :) We crossed a couple of streams, took in the GORGEOUS views, appreciated the fresh air and exercise, and soaked in the mountain breeze and sound of rushing water.
We missed the trail that cut down to the base of the falls, things were a little hard to find with everything covered in snow, so we ended up at the river above the falls. Not quite as picturesque and epic of an ending, but I guess that just means we'll have to head back another time and actually make it to the base of the falls :)
It's about 4 miles out and back, but with it being so steep it takes longer than it would on an easier 4 mile trail. Definitely worth the trip, even without making it to the base of the falls, so if you make it to the falls it'd be that much cooler! Great hiking Adventure for the day - we give it an enthusiastic thumbs up :)
HOW TO DO THIS YOURSELF:
1) Grab your hiking shoes and JUST DO IT! If it's winter-time you'll want yaxtrax or something similar. Borrow them from a friend or grab a pair on Amazon. We found a knock-off brand at Costco for $10
2) There's no fee to enter the area so it's a completely free Adventure - gotta love it!
3) Timing: We started hiking around 12:30 pm and left the parking lot at about 3 pm so plan your timing accordingly
** Is there an Adventure you think we should discover? Comment below!
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