The Trail To Beaver Falls

Aside from the creek crossings, the trail to Beaver Falls is beautiful.  I kept thinking, “I can’t believe this is in the Arizona desert!”

The trail includes sandy stretches that go through meadows, which bloom with wildflowers in the spring.

In other parts, you’ll wind through mounds of grapevines on either side of the trail.  You’ll also hike by a few picnic tables if you feel like relaxing and having a snack.

Later in the hike, you’ll have to scramble up rocks and eventually down a steep descent to get to the falls.

You’ll hike by several other waterfalls, which look like smaller versions of Beaver Falls.  They’re also great spots for swimming or picnics.

Your first visual of Beaver Falls will be from a cliff above.

Wildlife Encounters: Big-Horned Sheep At Beaver Falls

You’re also likely to see desert big-horned sheep on your hike back to the campground!

I’d heard about the sheep in the area, but wasn’t sure we’d get lucky enough to see them.

Sure enough, two days in a row, as the sun started to drop below the canyon walls, the sheep climbed down for dinner.

They seemed used to seeing hikers passing by, and didn’t run off.  The male (or males) sort of “stood watch” as we got closer to them on the trail, and continued eating after we moved on.