Rifle Falls

Rifle Falls Parking Area
4.7
6 Reviews
Rifle Falls
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Details

Distance
0.63 miles
Elevation Gain
85 ft
Route Type
Loop

Features

Groups
Waterfall
Family Friendly
River
Bathrooms
Easy Parking
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About this place

Added by Derrick Lytle

Rifle Falls is a beautiful waterfall where you can escape the heat of Colorado's Western Slope.

RIfle Falls is located up Rifle Canyon just outside of the town of Rifle on I-70 in Southern Colorado. After driving by the sign for this gem many times on my drives from Utah to Colorado I made a short detour to check out the falls and have some lunch.

The state park is small with a some short trails, car camping, some short hiking trails with campsites, and these waterfalls with picnic tables nearby.

The hike up to the falls is easy and takes less than 5 minutes up a paved road. There's various small trails that wind up and around the falls and in to the caves made out of the carbonate rock which makes up the falls.

Take advantage of the trails and you can shoot the falls from lots of angles with little effort. The falls are in a canyon so shooting them in balanced light isn't much of a challenge although you may have to wait for people to move to get a good shot.

There's lots of great camping spots close to the falls and even some with power which can be nice if you need to charge your batteries.

The water has a lot of minerals in it so be sure to use a lens filter and bring a lens cloth to keep your lens as dry as possible.

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Leave No Trace

Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and be sure to follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly.
Community
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Allison Cole
7/8/2023
Easy fun for everyone to enjoy
We went Friday evening, and there was hardly anybody at the falls. Very beautiful scenery, and the hike around the waterfall was awesome. There ...
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Maggie D
3/31/2023
Worth a stop
Easy to access falls- just a short walk from the parking lot. Fun caves to explore beyond the falls. In the winter it is ...
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Teal
8/21/2019
beautiful place
not too populated area with beautiful large waterfalls
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Sarah Gooch
10/7/2016
Take the short hike up the falls
The falls themselves are awesome, but it's worth the 20 minutes it takes to walk the path behind and above the falls. The ...
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Kyle Frost
2/29/2016
Photogenic Waterfall
A 30 second walk brings you to a surprisingly spectacular waterfall. The calcium deposits and falls seem almost out of place in the mountain/desert ...
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Jason Hatfield
10/26/2015
Prime fall spot
Fall comes a little later here than in the high mountains but it's worth the wait. One of Colorado's few photogenic waterfalls.
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