North Fork of Mill Creek - Moab

RATING: Easy Hiking

LENGTH: 1+ Hours

GEAR: Sunscreen, A Swimsuit

MAPS: Moab, UT; Rill Creek, UT

DOWNLOAD: PDF Version download pdf

WAYPOINTS:
	Trailhead	12S 629210mE 4269203mN
	Falls	12S 630369mE 4269499mN

Hype

If it is a hot day in Moab, Mill Creek is THE place to be. This is a beautiful and very social place in the hotter times of the year. Is it considered the local swimming hole, and a nice relaxing place to cool off.

Trailhead

From downtown Moab, head east on center street, turn right on 400 E, then left on Mill Creek Dr. Make sure to go right when Mill Creek Dr. turns right and the Sand Flats Rd. goes straight. Finally, left on Powerhouse Lane until it ends at a dirt pullout and parking area. See the maps at the bottom of this description for a visual map of the roads.

Route

From the pullout you will see a good trail heading east, up Mill Creek canyon on the south (right) side of the stream. Less than 5 minutes from the car is a sandstone gorge below a small dam that provides a great place to hangout a short distance from the car.

For the more adventurous, continue heading up canyon, staying on the well used trail. The trail crosses the stream a few times, so don't be afraid to get your feet wet right from the start. About 15 minutes from the car, you may or may not notice a side canyon on the right (south). If you do notice it, stay in left fork (the main canyon on the most well used trail).

20-30 minutes from the car, you will arrive in shang-gri-la, a large pool and waterfall. This is an amazing place! The bold can swim the pool and up climb the waterfall, but another approach is to hike down canyon a short distance until you can easily climb up the right (looking down canyon - north) side of the canyon to a bench and walk above the pool to the top of the waterfall.

The waterfall is the destination for most, but continuing up canyon provides a nice hike in a beautiful setting. Return the way you came.

Photos (click on photo for more detail)

Maps

Comments

This is a must-see when in Moab. It's a great short hike right nere town and gives you a chance to cool off and have some fun. Dogs are welcome here, but only bring them if they are friendly with other pooches as there are usually a multitude of them throughout the area.

by: Aheugly [Jun 08, 2009]

Agreed--a beautiful place! I don't know how "dog-friendly" it is, though. Just because they aren't banned yet doesn't mean they're welcome. Dog owners often have freedom fantasies that seriously inconvenience everybody else. Keep your wet, muddy dog away from people & clean up after yours & everybody else's unless you want to see them shut out.

by: ffelix [Jun 26, 2009]

Visited June 27/28th. Thanks to Average Joe I didn't miss this incredible hike. My daughter and I did a few cannonballs off the cliffs around the pool and just took in the beauty. There are a few petroglyphs on the rocks right after the dam on the right. They are very close (arms reach). As always there was some garbage, but there was a very pleasant lady who was policing the area, and what she missed we packed out. Totally worth the very easy hike in.

by: javamike9 [Jun 29, 2009]

A lot of locals call this "Left Hand," as in the Left Hand of Mill Creek. The side canyon that's mentioned above is Right Hand. It's also a pleasant hike, not as good of swimming but much more private. As to Right Hand, I personally know two people who were jumping in the pool by the waterfall and hit the bottom hard enough to cause minor injuries. There was also someone who broke their femur either jumping or climbing out of the pool. I'm not going to say what someone should or shouldn't do, but beware that the jumps in Mill Creek aren't the safest around.

by: JohnBraun [Oct 25, 2010]