Compare 5 Nevada waterfall visits by the approach, terrain, and where to start. Some routes have closures or unresolved details; read the individual guide before travelling.
5 visit options
Short official trail route and trailhead documented
From the Kings Canyon trailhead on Kings Canyon Road, west of downtown Carson City, take the single-track, hikers-only Waterfall Trail. It switchbacks uphill past the junction with the North Kings Loop to the lower Kings Canyon waterfall on North Kings Canyon Creek, the most easily reached of the Kings Canyon falls. Return the same way, or take the 1.8-mile North Kings Loop for more views.
Leave US 95 about 39.8 miles north of Winnemucca on the dirt Horse Canyon road (1.86 miles south of the Orovada Rest Area). At 2.57 miles keep right at the fork, then right again; at 3.50 miles cross a creek and keep left into Falls Canyon. Park at the road end at 3.68 miles. Hike southeast up Falls Canyon on a single-track trail for 0.5 miles to the 45-foot falls. Taking the trail up Horse Canyon by mistake leads away from the falls. Return the same way.
Genoa Waterfall is a small fall in Genoa Canyon in the Carson Range west of Genoa. From the trailhead kiosk at the end of Carson Street, the single-track Genoa Canyon Trail follows the creek briefly, then climbs a long chain of switchbacks on the north side of the canyon. It then joins the Discovery Trail for about a mile, crosses a creek, and reaches the waterfall in less than a quarter mile more. Stay on the trail and do not climb around the waterfall. Return the same way, or make a longer loop with the Sierra Canyon Trail and walk back through town. The route description dates from 2013.
Little Falls is a seasonal waterfall of about 30 feet in a small side canyon of Kyle Canyon, Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, near the Mount Charleston village. World of Waterfalls describes this route, and the route description dates from 2017. From the small Echo Trailhead parking area, follow the sign right and briefly up the dry wash. About a minute later, watch for an easy-to-miss trail sign on the opposite side of the wash pointing uphill to the left, and take that trail. The Echo Trail climbs, then levels for about 0.6 miles; ignore false trails, including a wide path climbing steeply past an Echo Trail sign. At an unsigned junction, the Echo Trail goes left toward the Cathedral Rock Trailhead; turn right and climb about 0.3 miles until the trail runs in the creek bed in front of the falls. Several Kyle Canyon trails were closed after 2023 storm damage. In 2024 the Review-Journal reported that the Little Falls trail was open and reached from the Cathedral Rock parking lot.
