Gloria Falls, located along the Little Cottonwood Canyon near Alta, Utah, is a short trail with a wonderful payoff. This lush trail leads up to a 50ft waterfall, cascading down multiple tiers to White Pine Fork stream. And the best thing is, you can stand safely in the spray at the bottom of the falls! This trail is perfect for beginners and families with children.
Gloria Falls Trailhead
8538-9084 Little Cottonwood Rd, Sandy, UT 84092
40.575505, -111.681199
There is a medium-sized paved parking lot in front of the trailhead. You can also park along Little Cottonwood Canyon Road.
It is $10/car for 1 to 3 days pass. There is a fee machine at the trailhead. You can also use the America the Beautiful Pass here. Even if you’re parking on the road, you still need to pay the fee or have a pass.
Vault toilet at the trailhead.
Because this trail lies within a protected watershed, dogs and swimming are not allowed.
2.4 miles R.T.
547 ft
Moderate
Takes an average of 1-2 hours
Gloria Falls shares the same trailhead with Red Pine Lake and White Pine Trail. It is located about 5.3 miles up the Little Cottonwood Canyon, on the right (south) side of the road. The parking lot is medium-sized. If the lot is full, you can park along the turn-in or along Little Cottonwood Canyon Road. Whether you park in the parking lot or along the road, you still need to display either your parking pass or the America the Beautiful pass. The trailhead starts behind the restroom.
Since we finished our hike to Albion Meadows and Cecret Lake early, we decided to finish our day with Gloria Falls. After leaving the trailhead for a short distance, we reached the wooden bridge. Once we crossed the bridge, the Gloria Falls trail gradually ascended for about 1 mile. The trail is rocky, but it has a lot of shade. It was great for a warmer day. Along the trail, there were many wildflowers, wild raspberries, and thimbleberries. These berries made for some great snacks.
At around 1 mile, we reached a big wooden board with informational signs. There is also a view of the river to the right of the wooden board. This is the junction for Red Pine and White Pine Lake trails. From here, we went toward the river and followed the narrow, steep trail that climbs up the hill behind the wooden sign. This trail is the Red Pine Lake Trail that also leads to Gloria Falls.
Gloria Falls Trail climbs up the steep hill for about 1/10 of a mile before reaching a wooden footbridge. After crossing over the bridge, we noticed some pink tape blocking the old trail. There’s a sign pointing toward an alternate route while the trail crew builds a new trail.
This alternate route to Gloria Falls is quite beautiful. The trail weaves under tall trees, between lush vegetation and over gnarled tree roots. It also climbs quite a distance. Soon, as we curved around the corner, lo and behold, we saw Gloria Falls in all of its glory.
Gloria Falls is a lot more impressive in person than in photos. Although we’ve seen pictures of the falls, we were still left in awe watching the water rushing down the rocky steps. It reminds us of the Eternal Flames Falls in New York. However, Gloria Falls is taller and much more powerful. Because of the way the waterfall flows, you could safely stand right underneath it and feel the refreshing spray of water. It was quite refreshing, actually. Please note that because this trail lies within a protected watershed, swimming or wading is not allowed. When we were here, we were the only ones at the waterfall. So we took advantage of it and spent a lot of time here. It was so peaceful! Once you’re done, return the same way.
If you’re in the area, check out Donut Falls. If you love waterfalls with easy access, check out Burney Falls near Redding, CA, Madison Falls, and Sol Duc Falls in Olympic National Park. The Trail of 10 Falls in Oregon is also an easy hike with so many beautiful waterfalls! If you just want to drive and see many waterfalls in one area, check out Waterfalls Corridor in Oregon.
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These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is Vy's favorite hiking bag! It has tons of room for snacks and water!
It's always good to bring a GPS tracker with you. We use the Garmin inReach.
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
If you tend to have foot blisters on hikes, get this! We use this all the time.
These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
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Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of Live That Adventure. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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