One of the things that I love doing with my kids in the summers is taking them on hikes. I especially love taking them to new places I’ve never been as it feels more adventurous doing it that way and I love not knowing what is going to be around the next bend and being excited to see something new! The Santaquin Canyon waterfall hike was recommended to me by my Chiropractor but with very vague directions. I knew where to park and how to get to the entrance of the trail head, but beyond that I just knew there was a waterfall less than a mile from the road. So we went with those directions.
Unfortunately though, we didn’t end up seeing a waterfall within about 1 mile of the road. In fact, we ended up going and going and going along the path for probably a good 2+ miles without seeing any sign of a waterfall. We even stopped at one point (when the kids were hungry and tired) and I ended up running ahead for another 1/2 mile or so to see if I could find it. But in the end we never did find the waterfall. That is until we started heading back and were almost to the car. And whala! There it was literally within 1/4 of a mile from the trail head! I couldn’t believe we’d missed it! But it was behind some trees going in and on the way back it was easy to see.
We had to laugh at our long hike though trying to find the waterfall. but you know what? We had so much fun! The hike took us back and forth across the river, and even through the river for a portion as well. We had to climb over logs, and under logs, and really it had been so fun. Branson (who usually prefers not going with us on our hikes) said he loved it! He even kept holding my hand and kissing my hand and telling me he loved me! Now that is a successful hike! So I was so glad we hadn’t found the waterfall right away and kept going. We would have missed so much of the exploring and adventure had we just found it and gone home! Below are some pictures of our awesome day!
Usually Adam takes Jamis on all our hikes, so this was a big deal for me to be caring this little one on my own. Especially considering how heavy he is and considering we probably hiked 4+ miles round trip. It also gave me so much appreciation for what Adam goes through each time we hike. My back was so sore by the end and I realized what a great service he provides to me by taking Jamis in the pack each time. Thank you sweetie for being so awesome!
We also took Harry’s friend Bryton with us. He’s a great kid and we enjoyed having him along for the hike.
As I mentioned earlier, some parts of the trail actually took us right up the river. Luckily Dawson and Ady had worn shoes they could get wet, but the rest of us were in hiking shoes which required quite the bit of finangling to get through the waters without getting wet. Branson ended up taking his shoes off so that he could walk in the water and hold my hand to help me get through some of the more difficult parts. Having Jamis on my back messed with my balance and I was always afraid I’d fall with him on my back. So I really appreciated Branson staying with me to help me maneuver the maze! In the end I ended up falling in the river anyway and so from that point on I just walked across it since my shoes were already wet! It made it much easier that way. 😉 And cooler!
We also had several areas like these where we had a bunch of fallen trees. Sometimes we had to hike over them, and other times we had to go under them. The going under was super hard with Jamis strapped on my back but thankfully I had all these great to help me get through.
We ended up crossing the river back and forth for what felt like 100 times! Usually over little logs like the below that someone had put in the water.
And below is a look at the waterfall that we never found until we were on our way home! ha ha! See that little white streak in the top center of the picture? That was our missing waterfall!
We also ended up finding a 2nd waterfall as well. If you look closely you can see the small little waterfall at the bottom but it actually went quite high up. See the water and rocks a little higher up?
After our hike, I was so impressed with the kids, that I thought they all deserved a treat! So we stopped at the Family Tree restaurant for 2 of their huge scones and honey butter, and then also stopped at Sip n’ Spot for a few of their big snow cones!
Such a fun day with these cuties! Love them!