Rifle Falls State Park Is A Great Family Getaway

Rifle Falls is a lush, green, and beautiful oasis in Western Colorado.

I had heard about Rifle Falls. Serval locals told me of its beauty and the fact that you can walk to the top and under the falls. No description, or photograph for that matter, can truly capture its beauty. It's a special place as I found out on my first visit a couple of weeks ago.

Not far off of I-70 just west of the town of Rifle, you'll find Rifle Falls State Park. Take exit 90, go north on Highway 13 for 4 miles. Make your way through Rifle on Railroad Ave. Take a right at Highway 325 and drive about 10 miles. The park entrance is just off the road. You can't miss it.

As this winter's record-setting snowpack melts it's providing a torrent of runoff that's making the falls more spectacular than ever! It's s short drive up to the parking lot below the falls. As soon as you get out you can hear the water crashing down in the distance. It's a busy place. As I walked the path toward the falls on that Sunday evening I passed several families grilling and hanging out at the picnic tables along the way.

What's cool too is you can follow the path around either side to the top of the falls and actually walk across a couple of small ridges over the flowing water. On top, there are a couple of fishing ponds and a fish hatchery. The view from up there is stunning.

My suggestion is to load of your friends and family and head up while the water is really flowing. The drought had reduced the falls to nearly a trickle the last couple of years. Not the case this year! The water is cascading down and over the triple falls creating spray and green oasis like no other place around. Rifle Falls State Park is a "must see", especially this year!