Gordon Creek Falls is a 50-foot, two-tier cascade on Gordon Creek in Carbon County, Utah, on Bureau of Land Management land near Price and Helper. It is the lower of two waterfalls on the Gordon Creek Trail and the usual destination of a short walk from the Trestle Road trailhead.
The falls
The falls drop as steep tiered cascades across two drops, the taller about 35 feet. Gordon Creek steps down over layered sandstone ledges into a pool, with pinyon-juniper slopes above; flow depends on snowmelt and storms. A second, upper waterfall lies about 1.5 miles farther up the trail.
Getting there
From Price, follow Consumer's Road for 2.8 miles, turn left (south) onto an unmarked dirt road and follow it 3.4 miles to a small signed parking area for the Gordon Creek Trail on the right. The lower falls is about a mile from Trestle Road; the walk is 2.2 miles round trip, while AllTrails lists 2.3 miles with 232 feet of gain and rates it easy. The route is a 52-inch ATV trail that is also open to hikers, mountain bikers and horses, so expect to share it. The BLM Price Field Office manages the area and can give current directions.
When to go
Spring and early summer is the recommended season, when snowmelt raises the creek.
On site
Gordon Creek Trail runs through a flash-flood area; skip the hike when rain threatens. Dogs are allowed on the trail and in the creek; no services are available at the trailhead. Past the upper falls, the trail continues to an abandoned historic cabin about 3 miles beyond the first waterfall, an outing of 6.4 miles round trip.
Nearby
Ford Creek Falls, the other listed waterfall in Carbon County, is about 12.4 miles away. Upper Fifth Water Falls is about 36.9 miles and Milky Falls about 39.4 miles. The small town of Spring Glen is 6.6 miles away.
Distances are straight-line.