The Fifth Water Hot Springs Hike up Diamond Fork Canyon should be on every Utah family’s bucket list this summer! Don’t have time? Do it anyway.
Hey! Maria here from Wanderookie to share with you one of the most exciting family day hikes in Utah! My husband and I started Wanderookie to share the best Utah hikes and outdoor recreation specifically, for families and rookie adventurers. We test each hike out ourselves and report on trail details to minimize any surprises or hiccups you may face!
Having hiked this trail with my 7 month old, I can tell you it is longer than the average family hike, but very doable. There are no fees to access this trail and no terrible switch backs either!
Length: 4.2 miles round trip
Difficulty: Easy to moderate.
Location: This area is located up Diamond Fork Canyon southeast of Spanish Fork. To get there, take I-15 Exit 257B onto US 6 – East. Follow US 6 – East for 10.8 miles. At this point, you will see the turnoff for the ‘Diamond CG’ road on your left. Follow the road for 9.8 miles to your destination, on your right.
Trailhead GPS Coordinates: (N) 40.084307, (W) -111.354818
This hike will take your family to an amazing waterfall that feeds into a couple of natural hot springs. This hike is popular, but not everyone knows the ins-and-outs of it. The trick to hiking Fifth Water is to go in the SPRING. This means you won’t have to compete with as many hiking groups yet!
Summer is still a good time to go, but do avoid winter months and evenings. I say that, because I have heard skinny dippers like to come at those times. This isn’t a problem during the day because a ranger hikes by every so often. I haven’t seen any skinny dippers and have hiked this trail twice.
We hiked this trail with our swimming suits under our clothes and brought towels with us. I was a little worried about the suit rubbing, but we had no problems! Some people just skip the clothes and hike in their suits (especially kids).
This trail is short enough to attract families with kids , but long enough to be completely overwhelmed by crowds.
The trail to the falls is pleasant just a bit long. (There are rocks embedded into the trail though, so do not wear flip flops.)
Speaking of footwear, pack your water shoes on this hike so the rocks don’t hurt your feet when you are exploring the springs!
You should also know that this is a sulphur-y hot spring, meaning you will smell it before you see it.
Big thanks to Kim for asking us to guest post on Things2DoInUtah!
If you liked this post and are interested in finding more hikes (maybe closer to your specific city), please check out our Wanderookie site and follow us on Facebook to stay up-to-date.
We also plan on hiking Fifth Water again with the Wanderookie summer hiking group, so you can find that group on our Facebook page too!
I want to go here so bad! Why have I never heard of it and I have lived in Utah all my life!!
The goal of our blog is to find these things that native Utahns have never heard of but would love to do! I am so glad you commented!
I went to these hot springs twice in the winter of 1998. I don’t remember there being a waterfall then but maybe I just didn’t see it. I hiked up in the middle of the night and there was snow both times. I know they did some kind of major construction in the area after that and maybe the waterfall was created then. I really don’t know. Both times I went there were indeed naked people EVERYWHERE! It was a little scary in the dark because they would just climb down on top of people unless the person saw them in time and got out of the way. I barely made it! I hope to go back in the daytime and actually see the area. The pictures on this blog are beautiful!
Daytime is definitely best to avoid those having too much fun!