22 April 2008
St. Mary’s Falls
Posted by kris under: Trails .
Name of Trial: St. Mary’s Falls
Total Distance: 7.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2000 feet
Difficulty: Moderate to Hard
Hike Type: Out and back
Starting Location: End of Gold Camp Rd.
Today my hiking club decided to go to St. Mary’s Falls Trail which is part of Pike National Forest. It is a little ways into the mountain but it is a great hike. You start out by hiking along the closed portion of Gold Camp Rd. The road is pretty gravely but not a very steep incline. After about a mile on this road you take a trail on the right to St. Mary’s Falls. The trail starts off with a moderate incline containing a few steeper parts. It is a really nice trail that meanders along a small creek which makes for a very pleasant hike. The tail continues to go strait along the creek for about one mile and then the trial starts to have switchbacks. At this point the trail becomes steeper and very gravely. It does make for a more challenging hike but there is a great view waiting at the top.
At one point you have the option to go to the base of the falls or continue on to the top of the falls. We chose to go towards the top, but instead of going all the way to the top we took a detour to a saddle portion called Pebble Beach. This area did not have many trees and looked like a pebble beach (go figure). We then finished off our hike by hiking to the top of a rock outcropping which gave us a great view of Colorado Springs and the mountains around us. You could see every point of interest in Colorado Springs from there and even way out east.
From here you can hike back down the way you came or head to the top of the falls. I found it a little difficult staying balanced on the gravely areas of the trail on the way down. It was nice once we got back to the creek but the last bit on the road was a little boring and we just want to get back to the car. I did not like the gravel areas of the trail, but the creek was nice and the view at the top was spectacular.
One Comment so far...
7 Bridges Trail | Hiking in Colorado Says:
11 June 2008 at 3:15 am.
[...] Trail which is also known as North Cheyenne Creek Trail. This starts at the same point as the St. Mary’s Falls Trail. You start out by hiking along the closed portion of Gold Camp Road but instead of going all the [...]
