Sight · Grand Canyon National Park
A 180-foot plunge where Deer Creek meets the Colorado
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Grand Canyon Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Grand Canyon National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Grand Canyon audio tour“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Deer Creek Falls is a roughly 180-foot drop where Deer Creek reaches the Colorado River, deep in the Grand Canyon. Keep it on your list if you’re already on a river trip; hiking in is a serious backcountry commitment, not a quick detour.
Deer Creek slides across a rock ledge called The Patio before entering the Narrows. The creek narrows from the southeast end of The Patio to the base of the falls are closed to climbing and rappelling, with or without ropes, to protect cultural resources. The established trail along the west side to the river and campsites remains open.
Southern Paiute people have used the Deer Creek drainage for hundreds of years, and the slot canyon below The Patio is culturally significant. Stay on the open route and leave the creek narrows undisturbed.
The Narrows cut through hard Tapeats rock. From the river approach, include part of the Colorado in your view; seeing where the two waterways meet helps the scale of Deer Creek’s drop come through.
Wildlife
718 sightingsCalifornia CondorMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
533 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
169 sightingsAmerican BisonMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,891 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
59 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
27 sightingsGray FoxMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Grand Canyon. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingTapeats Creek to Deer Creek Traverse7.6 mi · 8 hr · 2.5 mi awayA full-day river traverse links Thunder River with Deer Creek.
ChallengingTapeats Creek Trail2.2 mi · 2.5 hr · 3.2 mi awayA green canyon corridor with two serious creek crossings.
EasyStone Creek Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 4.2 mi awayA short river stop for a fern-lined waterfall refuge.
ChallengingThunder River Trail from Indian Hollow25.8 mi · 20 hr · 4.9 mi awayA rugged backcountry drop to Thunder River's spring-fed cascadesParkwolf’s Grand Canyon ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
