Ellison Creek Cascades is a beautiful trail near Payson, Arizona. It was a beautiful, well kept trail with water pools and a waterfall at the end. 

When the kids think about this summer, I hope they remember it as the summer we searched and explored secret trails. I hope they remember loading the car with a cooler full of snacks and setting off hoping for empty paths to wander.

Julia and I would pick a weekday and pack the car. Tuesdays seemed to always work well and traffic was never a problem. We’d drive past the popular parking spots and find a place that wasn’t very crowded. The adventure would usually start with a version of ‘how long is this going to be?’ or ‘I’m hungry’ or ‘my legs already hurt’, but a few minutes in to the hike, everyone was looking for sticks and rocks for their collections.

I honestly could not have done these hikes without Julia and Nate’s help this summer. Their strong arms and joyful attitudes made these adventures fun, instead of regretful. They were always there to carry little ones when they needed a break. (If you look carefully, you can actually see Riley carrying Mary Alice above…)

Our trail of choice for this outing was Ellison Creek Cascades.

The All Trails app helped us immensely. The app allows users to leave tips about where to park and which paths to follow.

This trail had the most random turn off point – it was an old safety sign propped up on the trail. At this point, you veer right as you go in. We would have completely missed it if we hadn’t had this advice from other hikers!

Ellison Creek Cascades is now in my top 5 hikes of all time. The hike in was fairly easy, so we were able to really enjoy our destination. We meandered through a path and it suddenly became sandy and lush. As we rounded the corner, we were greeted by the most amazing pools and smooth rocks. I set up our picnic and Julia took everyone into the pools.

There really is something magical about siblings adventuring together. Suddenly, they are a team, ready to find treasure together; their individual strengths shine and they rely on one another for help. When we return home, we’ve added another memory to the arsenal of shared experiences and times of getting along.

We could see the waterfalls from our spot, but it was very crowded so we decided to just spend the afternoon at our little spot. A light rain passed by and the kids giggled and watched the little drops dance on the water.

I sat back and watched my little family, so thankful for one of those really, really good days to remember.