Rappelling - Battlecreek Falls Waterfall, Pleasant Grove 9/27/25

Emily Hacken
Oct 5
2 min read

Sample Itinerary -

Hike-1pm

Set up - 1:30 pm

Rappelling – 2-4 pm

Directions - Battle Creek Falls Trailhead, Pleasant Grove

Activity -

Rappelling the Waterfall - Hike up 0.6 miles to the waterfall. To access the bolts for the rappels, hike the trail above the falls and look for 4 sets of bolts to the left of the trail above the falls. Here you can rappel NEXT to the falls. If you want the full water experience, set up your webbing anchor off a good tree or two on the north side of the stream leading into the falls about 10-15 ft back. In Sept the flow was not bad and we just used rain jackets. WEAR HELMETS. We saw plenty of rocks come off the waterfall while rappelling. Belayers should stand back a bit when rappelling to prevent being hit by rocks coming off the falls.

Tips for waterfall rappelling:

Wear a helmet
Wear a rainjacket and wetsuit if it's cold
Avoid spring runoff (May-June) when flows can be too powerful and debree more frequent
NEVER use a self belay (VT prussik or third hand) while rappelling due to possibility of jamming
Wear a baseball hat under your helmet to give you a breathing space when the water pours on you
Look forward while in the waterfall, not up to keep a space to breathe
Rappel sideways to keep better balance
Belay out of the reach of the falls to avoid debree coming off the top, but close enough to help your rappeller
Wear closed-toed water shoes or running shoes

Gear - Harness (can rent), climbing helmet (can rent - can use ski helmets but not bike helmets), rain jacket, wetsuit (if cold), leather gloves, thin T-shirt, thin long-sleeve shirt, fleece, rain jacket, shorts or hiking pants, watershoes, running shoes or boots, 1 L water , 2-4 snacks, small backpack, sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, first aid kit, 60-70 m static rope, webbing/quicklinks/8/carbiners/quad - anchors

Rentals -

Harness: $5/day (BYU Outdoors Unltd); $17 (BYU Outdoors Unltd)

Helmet: $4/day (BYU Outdoors Unltd); $4/day (UVU Outdoor Adventure Center)