February 5, 2023

Uvas Canyon County Park is a local waterfall paradise. It is also great place for camping. Something I have enjoyed with family and friends several times in the past years.

Along the relatively easy Waterfall Loop following Swanson Creek you can explore four waterfalls. Two additional waterfalls require some additional hiking, but are well worth the extra effort. The waterfalls are particularly beautiful after a prolonged period of rain with a good amount of precipitation. After several years with below average rainfalls, this was finally the case again this winter after fairly wet months of December and January. I therefore decided to pay Uvas Canyon a visit this weekend after having been there to make waterfall images back 13 years ago in January 2010.

The first fall on the Waterfall Loop is Granuja Falls. It cascades down Swanson Creek and can be enjoyed on a footbridge across it or after a very short climb down to the creek where you are closer to the action.

Next up is Black Rock Falls, which is fed by a small side creek that flows into Swanson Creek a bit further down.

The third fall on the loop is Upper Falls. Since there was a lot of rain the past two months, it was not safe to get below the falls. I therefore opted for an image from a higher vantage point since I already made an image from the bottom of the falls back in 2010.

The last fall on the loop is Basin Falls. A series of storms has brought down a tree this winter. It sits right in the center of the first cascade and provides for an added intriguing focal point.

To explore Triple Falls one has to hike Alec Canyon Trail off Waterfall Loop, a 2.4 miles roundtrip. A storm this winter has brought down the tree, which used to throne right at the top of the fall.

Lower Falls is located below Waterfall Loop near where Swanson Creek merges into Uvas Creek. It's about a 0.5 miles round trip on Lower Swanson Creek Trail off Waterfall Loop. Because a lot of debris was piling up due to the past storms, I decided not to cross Swanson Creek to photograph the fall. Instead I opted to make an image of Uvas Creek gently curving into the forest.

On the way back from Upper Falls, I came across a beautiful Realm of Moss with wonderful greens and dark reds. It may be my favorite image of this week's trip, despite not having any water in it.

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