This is part of my camp-in-crazy-places series. I enjoy taking photos of spots where people can escape the bustle found at popular destinations and still find beauty and serenity. This spot is actually just off a very popular trail that follows Fifth Water Creek, a tributary above the Diamond Fork River. People aim for the famous hot springs and walk right past this and another very pretty waterfall.
It is not a great camping spot, but it is unique and beautiful. There is barely enough room for a small tent, the ground is not level, and it is rocky. Yep - perfect for my crazy camps list.
The water flow is way down compared with May in previous years. My third photo shows the middle waterfall along the creek, and the fourth photo shows what that same waterfall has looked like in previous years. The final photos show one of the hot spring pools and the lower waterfall that falls right into a large soaking pool.
The streamflow is actually pretty good up high in the canyon. The flow over the top waterfall is healthy, but then the stream dries up entirely between the top and middle waterfall. I've never seen that before in previous years. The stream starts to pick up water again just above the middle waterfall, but the flow is only a trickle. The flow increases above the lower watefall, but is still low compared to other years.
This will be an interesting camping season. I'm sure there will be great opportunities but we will be dealing with low water in many areas.
-- Dave Webb, May, 2026