Wednesday, December 5, 2012

East and West Lions Falls, 12/04/12


Lions Canyon Junction: a three-way stop.

Ruth and I took care of some morning errands before heading up to Rose Valley for a bit of exercise. Starting at noon doesn't leave a wide range of trail options but I knew just the thing... The Lions Canyon circuit. This sweet little tour loops through a small valley and explores two small branch canyons, each of which have their own waterfalls. This hike is best done on a sunny day in the spring but is pretty nice any time of year. Right now the East and West cascades have a fair amount of flow. We started from Rose Valley campground, taking the Rose Valley Connector trail that starts just before entering the site. 

West Lions Canyon




West Lions Falls

The only real climb on this 6.2 mile walk kicks in at less than a mile from the TH. This grade is short, pumpy, and climbs to a saddle which separates Lions from Rose Valley. After dropping into Lions the trail meanders across numerous small drainages and through tunnels carved from double-overhead willow and wild rose for about a mile before a first trail sign is encountered. This is where the other connector trail, the one that starts at Middle Lions Camp, meets with the Rose Valley Connector. Continuing about a mile further brings one to a small, grassy flat with the sign seen at the top of this post. This sign offers three options and the correlating trails are all very easy to figure out.

West Lions Canyon


We took the right hand path 0.4miles to West Lions Camp (not a "garden spot") and continued upstream a few minutes to the falls. As with East Lions, this is a shady creekbed of pretty conglomerate rock with several small cascades and one main falls. Both the East and West waterfalls on this tour are very pretty and have that "secret spot" kind of feel (at least on a weekday).
East Lions Canyon

Ruth and myself at East Lions Falls

After a few minutes we backtracked out of the creek and returned to the aformentioned sign and continued into the eastern branch of Lions Creek. Most of the 0.5miles to East Lions travels a well mantained path through stands of overhead brush before opening into a pretty flat sprinkled with maple and cottonwood. The campsite at East Lions is nice and peaceful, though one has to walk upstream a bit in order to get water. Continuing up the creek past the campsite brings one to a series of small cascades which require a little scrambling to get through. The main falls lies in a small culdesac with four streams of water falling in from above. This is a very pretty and peaceful place with beautiful maples for a backdrop.
East Lions Falls







 




 
East Lions Falls


East Lions Canyon

This is a great little hike for those that want to get out but don't have the full day to work with. We took our time and still weren't out for more than four hours. There's a lot to enjoy along the way.
East Lions Canyon

2 comments:

  1. Happy to see some running water in the local backcountry...what a novelty!

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  2. Thanks Nico,
    Have missed you man. Lets fire off something. -Stillman

    ReplyDelete