Cooler temperatures this morning allowed for near perfect conditions to hike to the waterfall on the Dripping Springs Trail. If you are a camper, access is a very short walk just from the campground; day visitors also have easy access just left of the main entrance at the parking lot.
The start of the trail is fully paved and accessible with guard railings.
At the first intersection follow the signs and don’t cross the bridge if you want to reach the bottom of the falls. I took a brief peek at the short bridge but not much to see there. This leads to a taller bridge but I don’t know that views from that angle are any better than the main falls trail.
The next intersection is a short spur leading to a viewing platform of the falls from above. Here you can see the tall bridge over the canyon that leads to other trails in the park.
Here is the view of the falls from above. Notice it is a small channel in the rock that sprays over the edge. According to Wikipedia and other sites, the way this sprays causes an evaporation effect that cools the water 10 degrees before it reaches the bottom. This cooling effects the plants that grow below and allows for a larger amount of diversity than the surrounding areas.
The pavement ends and gravel begins promptly as the elevation descends downward. It is still a very well maintained trail and the grade isn’t too steep.
The gravel turns into some concrete steps as the slope becomes too steep for gravel alone…
And finally there is a very nice boardwalk with railings leading up closer to the falls and pool below. It is indeed noticeably cooler down in the canyon.
Here is the most unobstructed view I could get of the falls today. Online sources state it drops 77 feet into the valley.
Today’s trail adventures come with a very unusual wildlife sighting. Behold this tourist recording a selfie flexing with his Coke 20oz bottle for some reason. The goofy hat and correctly-worn mask are quite ironic given what we all saw during the pandemic. What a dork.
If you look closely you can also see water dripping from the bottom of the rocks along the sides of the falls. I’m not sure if this is the reason behind the location’s name but it would make sense.
Vertical view of falls from the nearest part of viewing platform. No swimming or wading in the pool at the bottom to protect plant life and diversity, but it is nice to look at and enjoy from a distance.
And finally a little bit of trivia: per the sign on the boardwalk, this is the location where they filmed the movie adaptation of Where the Red Fern Grows back in 1974. The sign commemorates the 50th anniversary of the filming – which is this year! Not sure if they still read this in schools, I recall reading the book sometime in the elementary years.
Hiking Data
Hiking record along the Dripping Springs Trail for today. Gaia doesn’t have the full trail properly displayed on their maps but I can confirm it’s there in the real world.
Trail is short and easy, right around 1/4 mile round trip with the 70ft descent from the falls elevation. Completely worth it if you can handle a few flights of staircases.
