Clear Creek (from the Colorado River)

Clear Creek (from the Colorado River) is a 1.4-mile out-and-back to a split waterfall in a narrow inner-canyon creek. Allow about two hours. The short length hides a rough entry: you reach it only as part of a permitted Colorado River trip, then find and scramble over smooth schist ridges, gaining about 200 feet before dropping into the creek. The creek-bed stretch is mostly level cobbles, but you’ll walk through water. This is a good side hike if you’re already on the river and comfortable with route-finding, scrambling and wet feet. Pets aren’t allowed below the rim; service animals assisting a person with a disability are permitted under park rules.

The map pin and line are approximate. The commonly used boat beach isn’t precisely located in available mapping, and the line follows Clear Creek’s mapped channel from its mouth rather than showing the ridge entry. Use it to understand the creek corridor, not as directions to the beach.

The hike uses the river-right side at about mile 84.5. Route-specific directions describe a small beach just before the river bends northeast, with another beach beyond the creek mouth if you miss it. From the beach, the entry crosses several smooth ridges before dropping into the creek; route-finding is part of the hike. Once you reach the channel, head upstream over cobbles. Water becomes unavoidable, so don’t expect to keep your shoes dry. This is the short river-access walk, not the longer Clear Creek Trail reached from Phantom Ranch.

The lower waterfall splits around a large reddish boulder: one stream drops vertically while another shoots outward from a ledge into the pool. The narrow canyon walls expose dark Vishnu Schist cut by pink Zoroaster Granite, rocks nearly 1.75 billion years old. At the falls, frame the central boulder with both flows to show what makes this stop different.