📍Provo area, Utah

Arrive by 8am and the parking area is nearly empty, the roar of water the only thing competing with birdsong — by 9:30 it's a different scene entirely, with families and school groups filling the overlook. Two streams of white water braid down 607 feet of rust-and-grey stone, and the cool mist that drifts onto the viewing platform feels like a fall preview even before the leaves fully turn. Teens tend to light up here — it's the kind of waterfall that photographs well without much effort, and the short walk means nobody's legs are tired before the day even starts.

The canyon mouth opens up just minutes from the falls, red-rock walls rising on either side of the Provo River as it churns over boulders below. This is a stop built for wandering rather than hiking hard — a short riverside walk, a few photo pauses, maybe a scramble onto sun-warmed boulders near the water's edge. Fall color often creeps down the canyon walls in patches of gold and orange by late September, adding texture to the already dramatic rock.

After two outdoor stops, the shift to BYU's wide, grassy quad feels like a deliberate exhale — red-brick buildings with soaring arches catch the afternoon sun, and the pace here is slower, more wander-friendly. The Bean Museum offers a free, teen-friendly break (taxidermy dioramas tend to be a surprise hit), and the plazas are flat and easy after a morning of trail terrain. It's a good moment for teens to peel off with a sibling or parent and explore a wing solo while the rest of the family lingers over coffee nearby.

Arrive by 8am to catch the trail nearly empty and the morning light slanting gold through aspen groves just starting to turn — by mid-morning, weekend hikers fill the switchbacks. The scent of pine and cool mountain air sharpens with every few hundred feet of climb, purple columbines giving way to meadow views that stretch toward snow-dusted peaks. For teens, this is the adventure beat of the trip — real elevation gain, a sense of accomplishment, and views worth bragging about back home. Families with younger kids or less hiking stamina can turn back early at any of the lower meadow viewpoints without missing the best scenery.

After the morning's climb, this flat, easy loop feels like a reward — boardwalks wind past impossibly turquoise spring-fed pools, the water so clear it looks almost unreal against the dark evergreen backdrop. It's a deliberate pace-shift from the Timpooneke climb: low energy, high visual payoff, and a chance for tired legs to recover while still delivering one of the most photogenic stops of the trip. Teens who've been pushing through switchbacks all morning tend to appreciate the breather as much as the view.