Little Falls Overview
Little Falls Trail at Mount Charleston is a nice little out and back hike stretching just under a mile in length with a waterfall at the end.
Depending on the time of year that you go, the waterfall may be a trickle or in our case, a roaring rapid of water bouncing off the canyon walls.
Little Falls at Mount Charleston
What is Little Falls and What Can You Expect
As stated above, Little Falls is a fairly easy hike that should take you around a couple of hours to complete which makes it the perfect hike for beginners or for those who want to start their day of hiking multiple trails off gently.
According to the track, someone in our group ran, the route we took was about .8 miles long with around 350 feet of elevation gain.
Keep in mind that there are two parking lots that lead up to Little Falls, one being Echo and the other being Cathedral Rock. We started our hike from the Echo parking lot so your experience may be a little different than if you started from the Cathedral parking lot.
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The trail, for the most part, stays pretty visible and stable with a couple of forks you have to keep a look out for so you don’t end up on the wrong trail.
For whatever reason, the fork in the trail that causes the biggest change in hiking difficulty isn’t marked but once you know what it looks like, it should be easy enough to point out.
The picture above shows the fork I’m talking about and you can see the people on the left going down the trail.
To the left is the trail we took which still has a slight incline, but nothing compared to if you decide to go right. The trail to the right goes straight up and is quite the thigh burner if you’re looking for that kind of hike.
Besides the unmarked fork, the trail is pretty easy to navigate and stays solid until you hit the box canyon which has wet rocks and fallen trees leading up to the falls.
Spencer’s Snippets
Distance:
The trail is .8 miles long if you start from the Echo trail parking lot as we did.
Time Needed To Complete The Hike:
Around 2 hours depending on pacing.
Elevation Gain:
~350 feet.
Difficulty:
Easy with the potential to be moderate if you’re not used to the elevation of Mount Charleston.
Trail Type:
Dirt and small rocks up until you hit the box canyon. From there, it’s loose, sometimes wet, rocks, logs, and brush from the surrounding plants.
Permits and Fees
None. The trail is absolutely free.
Dog-Friendly
Dogs are allowed on the trail as long as they are on a leash.
Cell Phone Service at Little Falls
I had it the whole way up with ATT but different providers may have other results
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What to Take to Hike Little Falls
As far as food and water go, this is your typical easy Mount Charleston hike which means that two liters of water should be plenty and your basic trail snacks will be more than enough to power you through. Backpacks aren’t necessarily needed because it is a short hike but they are nice to have.
Little Falls does get a little narrow at the end, so setting up a picnic-style lunch may be a little harder than it would be at something like Mary Janes falls, but it’s still doable.
If you’ve read anything else I’ve done, I’m always going to recommend hiking boots on any trail but Little Falls is very doable with a good pair of tennis shoes.
Depending on the time of year, snow could be a factor in the shoes and clothes you bring so adjust as needed.
Sunscreen or some form of sun protection is needed even though there is tree cover most of the way. I thought the trees would be enough and ended up getting burned anyway.
Parking Lot Amenities
The Echo Trail parking lot is a basic parking lot without any bathrooms so if you need to go, try finding a parking lot that has one.
Most of the parking lots will have bathrooms, it’s just that for whatever reason Echo Trail is one of the few that doesn’t.
