Lisa Falls in Little Cottonwood Canyon

Lisa Falls is a unique waterfall in Little Cottonwood Canyon. This waterfall is different than most we’ve seen because it cascades sideways down a rock face. The hike is very short. Maybe a third of a mile roundtrip, but it is rather rocky, so hold the hand of little ones.

To access the trailhead drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon 2.7 miles (from where the roads come together). There is parking on the right (south) side of the road for the Little Cottonwood Canyon Trail. Across the street on the north side there is much less parking, and the trail to the falls– it is unmarked.

As you approach the falls, you can see a rock face soaring steadily up from the canyon floor. You’ll hear the trickle of water, too. At the falls, we saw an American Dipper that stayed and bathed in the water the entire time we were there. Right of the falls you may see rock climbers– this is one of their favorite haunts– scaling the granite face.

Our boys had a lot of fun climbing on the boulders. They said it was the best part of the hike. We also had fun throwing rocks into the water down the hill from the waterfall. We visited this hike in both Spring and Fall and while there was definitely more water in the Spring, this hike was fun in the Fall, too.

Lisa Falls is a favorite short hike of ours because you can get right to the base of the falls and feel the water on your face. It’s fun to watch the waterfall come sideways down the mountainside. We spent an hour on this short trail just enjoying the beauty of the water and exploring on the rocks, but you could do this hike in a much shorter amount of time. It’s only 0.3 miles! Make sure to stop and do this hike next time you are in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

We seriously did this hike in 5 minutes, even with our littlest one walking the entire way! This is the video of our hike. We even hiked Lisa Falls in winter. Check it out on our Lisa Falls Winter post.