Rifle Falls State Park features a unique triple waterfall that drops 70 feet to East Rifle Creek. The site is ridiculously scenic and was described as tropical in more than one trail review. The spray creates a lush environment that extends downstream and to the sides of the falls, covering the limestone and rocks in the creek below with thick, long grass and moss. It’s surprisingly green for Colorado.
We followed the Coyote Trail which circumnavigates the falls, climbing up one side of the cliffs and down the other. The water has cut into the soft limestone around the creek, pockmarking the cliffs and creating caves and grottos; it has also carved a space behind one of the falling streams of water which permits visitors to walk behind the waterfall. Upon reaching the top we were treated to some beautiful views down the gap and also learned that one of the three flows is created by siphoning off part of the creek – which seemed a bit like cheating, but we couldn’t deny the beautiful results.
We stopped to admire the cute small lake nestled in the mountains behind the falls and then descended along the limestone, poking around in the grottos and fazing at the gradations of color reflecting off the white rock. Leaving the park we stopped briefly at the beautiful Rifle Gap Reservoir, a shimmering pool of cobalt ringed by mountains and streams of fluffy white clouds. When I come back this way again, I intend on swimming in that lovely lake.