Bridal Veil Falls trail closes for season following rockslide, officials say

PROVO — Part of a popular hiking trail and park area on the Provo River Trail is now closed for the season.

A section of the Provo River Trail near Bridal Veil Falls will close earlier than usual because of a rockslide that occurred Friday afternoon, Utah County officials said.

Around 2:30 p.m., a rockslide occurred near Bridal Veil Falls, covering part of the popular trail and park area at the falls, Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Ormond said. Utah County officials, in a Facebook post around 5 p.m., later said the area will remain closed for the winter, with cleanup to take place next spring.

"The trail was scheduled to close next week, but the rockslide has prompted an earlier closure," the post said.

The area was inspected, and no one was injured, though multiple trees and some utility infrastructure were damaged, Ormond and county officials said.

Emerson and Bailee Hamilton said they were traveling through the canyon when they noticed the slide and captured video of rocks tumbling down toward the canyon floor and kicking up dust.

They stopped to see if anyone needed help when they heard more rocks beginning to fall down toward the popular trail, Bailee Hamilton said. They captured more videos of large rocks smashing onto the trail as they began to leave, which they shared with KSL.

The slide was reported within 24 hours after a few rain gauges in Provo Canyon received over an inch of rain, according to National Weather Service data. Many sections of the Wasatch Mountains also received multiple inches of precipitation from remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel.

Contributing: Alex Tumalip

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