Sliding Rock

Like most of us, I have this summer list... things to do/accomplish/learn etc. before school starts again. The first thing on my list of adventures was sliding rock in Alpine. For those of you who haven't done this, there is this little waterfall up in Alpine, UT that is a natural waterslide. I have been there before and it was a blast but I didn't remember exactly how to get there. I figured it would be a good thing to do since the weather was wonderful; the first day of SUMMER!

At about 5:00 Ryann, Gavin, and I drove to the trailhead and started hiking. Poor Ryann only had flip-flops. We got to the end of the road and there were 2 trails. I hate making decisions. There is a small trail that goes north and a big trail that was blocked by 2 boulders. Naturally, we chose the trail that was blocked. We hiked close to a mile and decided that we probably should have taken the other trail. We backtracked a lot and finally found where we wanted to be.

Because this is what the waterfall usually looks like, this is what we were expecting:

Due to the massive amounts of rain Utah has received this year, this is what the waterfall looked like on Tuesday:

We went down the slide once, somehow lived, and received our dose of adrenaline. I will definitely be hitting this place up again when the water is lower!

If you want to try it out for yourself, it is awesome in July and August. Anyone over the age of 8 could do it when the water is normal. I have heard of kids younger than 8 riding on their parents' laps. You can't live in Utah or Salt Lake counties and pass this up!

Directions

Take the Alpine/Highland exit off I-15 and turn left (north) on Alpine Highway. If you are coming from the South, take an American Fork exit and head north on 100 East, this road turns into Alpine Highway. Turn left (west) on Fort Canyon. The address is 1800 N Fort Canyon Road. If you stay on Fort Canyon, you will go straight into someone's driveway. Right before this driveway, there is a smaller road that forks to the right, take this. Park by the No Trespassing sign. Apparently it isn't trespassing. Walk through that gate and up the road until the road ends. (This is about a mile long hike.) From this point, you can either hike east, past the 2 big rocks, or North on the little trail. GO NORTH. The waterfall is about 30 yards from there. If you go east, you will find a pond with a popular hill and bike jump. I have seen guys do this and it is sweet, but I have never tried it.

If you do go on this adventure, in JULY or AUGUST, let me know how you like it! Also, if you have anything I should add to my summer list, please post it. I am always looking for fun stuff like this :)