Having the three little kids with me, I thought it would be a good idea to show them where the Virgin River starts, since they love hiking down to it and swimming in it. Having camped at Navajo Lake the night before, the trailhead to Cascade Falls wasn't far away.
To get there from Cedar City, Utah, take Hwy 14 out of Cedar City for a little over 25 miles to Navajo Lake road on the right. It is about 8 miles past the Hwy 143 junction. After about a quarter of a mile, a well maintained dirt road comes in from the left. There is a sign, though pretty well hidden, that points down this road to get to Cascade Falls. Turn left here and follow the road for 2 miles before it dead ends into a parking area for the trailhead. I should also mention that there is another junction of dirt roads along the way that is well marked with signs.
The trailhead is marked with a trail marker and the trail is well defined. It starts out through a pine forest with a view off into the distance to the left. At first the view is somewhat obscured by the pine trees until they start becoming intermittent and then you are able to see the canyon formed by the headwaters of the virgin river.
The day was just a little hazy, which slightly limited our views, but we could see for miles over forested hills and canyons. The trail soon turned a bit to the right and the scenery looked similar to the hoo doos and spires of Bryce Canyon. Small seeps of water started to appear out of the sandstone wall on the right and gave off a smell which the kids said "smelled like Casey Jr" Circus Train at Disneyland.
Wooden planks have been put in place to help keep the trail from eroding in spots and to create stairs in others. The trail is a little narrow in spots, with a cliff wall on the right and a sloped drop off to the left. I don't have a fear of heights, but those who do might feel a little uncomfortable.
Soon some stairs took us down to a cool alcove and then back up out of it and to the falls. The falls, which come from a sink hole under Navajo Lake and that start the Virgin River come out of an intriguing cave in the wall. It made me wish I could go back in there and explore it to see how deep it went back in.
We took some pictures and watched as the water that seemed to come out of the side of a rock formed the beginning of the Virgin River. In all the hike was 1.2 miles round trip, just perfect for my 10, 7, 6, and 4 year olds.
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