Lower Calf Creek

Lower Calf Creek

The walls at the head of the canyon are at least 150 feet high, some more than 200 feet tall – twice as tall as the canyon floor is wide. It looks like a glacial cirque. The fall comes down in two jumps, 126 total feet. The top part of the cascade is inaccessible. The bottom flume lands on steep shoulder of rock, then discharges into a broad, sandy pool that's fan shaped and shallow throughout until you get to within 10 feet of the plunge itself. It's a little uncomfortable in the deep part because water will be pelting you at fairly high velocity.
The beach is brilliant. It’s a crescent 15 feet wide that surrounds the waterline. It then slopes gently upward to a point about 45 feet back from the water and disappears into mixed vegetation and shady alders. Looks like the lagoon on Gilligan’s Island. Adding to the tropical appearance is a belt of vegetation climbing up the wall where a host of other water-loving species make a living in the cool, damp box canyon.
After water from Calf Creek and the Escalante River travel under the bridge on Hwy 12, it belongs to water districts in Southern California. Residents complain that the town of Escalante had to drill a well 3,200 feet deep just to reach a source of poor quality water.