Rifle Falls State Park

Last updated

Rifle Falls State Park
Rifle Falls State Park, CO (2187526705).jpg
Snow and ice covered falls in the park
USA Colorado location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Garfield County, Colorado, USA
Nearest city Rifle, Colorado
Coordinates 39°40′26″N107°42′00″W / 39.67389°N 107.70000°W / 39.67389; -107.70000
Area48 acres (0.19 km2)
Established1966
Visitors171,415(in 2021) [1]
Governing body Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Rifle Falls State Park is a Colorado State Park located in Garfield County northeast of Rifle, Colorado. The central feature of the 48-acre (19-hectare) park is Rifle Falls, [2] a triple 70-foot (21-meter) waterfall flowing over a travertine dam on East Rifle Creek. Commonly seen wildlife includes mule deer, elk, coyote, and golden-mantled ground squirrel. Rainbow and brown trout can be caught in the creek. Limestone cliffs near the falls have a few small caves and three species of bats. Visitor facilities include campsites, picnic sites and 2.0 miles (3.2 kilometers) of hiking trails.

Waterfalls at Rifle Falls State Park Rifle Falls waterfalls.jpg
Waterfalls at Rifle Falls State Park

Rifle Falls State Park is a very accessible and scenic location. The falls is located approximately 50 yards (46 meters) from the parking area with a relatively flat path adjoining the two areas. It is an easy walk to reach the falls, which are lovely nearly any time of year. The picnic and camping area near the parking lot offers grassy yard, restrooms, and potable water.

There is a short hike which leads up and around the top of the falls. The trail is fairly steep and rocky but is only about one mile (1,600 meters) round trip. Along the way there are several caves which visitors can explore. The hike also leads to a rock ledge behind one of the falls offering a lovely (if a little bit misty) view.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial State Park</span> State park in California, United States

McArthur–Burney Falls Memorial State Park is the second oldest state park in the California State Parks system, located approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Burney, California. The park offers camping, fishing, watersports, hiking and horseback riding facilities. The park is mainly known for the waterfall, Burney Falls, at the entrance of the park. Wildlife in the park includes bass, trout, Steller's jay, squirrels, woodpeckers, deer, and on rare occasion, black bear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hocking Hills State Park</span> State park in Ohio, United States

Hocking Hills State Park is a state park in the Hocking Hills region of Hocking County, Ohio, United States. In some areas the park adjoins the Hocking State Forest. Within the park are over 25 miles (40 km) of hiking trails, rock formations, waterfalls, and recess caves. The trails are open from dawn to dusk, all year round, including holidays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloudland Canyon State Park</span> State park in Georgia, United States

Cloudland Canyon State Park is a 3,485 acres (14.10 km2) Georgia state park located near Trenton and Cooper Heights on the western edge of Lookout Mountain. One of the largest and most scenic parks in Georgia, it contains rugged geology, and offers visitors a range of vistas across the deep gorge cut through the mountain by Sitton Gulch Creek, where the elevation varies from 800 to over 1,800 feet. Views of the canyon can be seen from the picnic area parking lot, in addition to additional views located along the rim trail. At the bottom of the gorge, two waterfalls cascade across layers of sandstone and shale, ending in small pools below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coyote Hills Regional Park</span> Park in Fremont, California, US

Coyote Hills Regional Park is a regional park encompassing nearly 978 acres of land and administered by the East Bay Regional Park District. The park, which was dedicated to public use in 1967, is located in Fremont, California, US, on the southeast shore of the San Francisco Bay. The Coyote Hills themselves are a small range of hills at the edge of the bay; though not reaching any great height, they afford tremendous views of the bay, three of the trans-bay bridges, the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, the Peninsula Range of the Santa Cruz Mountains and Mount Tamalpais. In addition to the hills themselves, the park encloses a substantial area of wetlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fall Creek Falls State Park</span> State park in Tennessee, United States

Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park is a state park in Van Buren and Bledsoe counties, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The over 30,638-acre (123.99 km2) park is centered on the upper Cane Creek Gorge, an area known for its unique geological formations and scenic waterfalls. The park's namesake is the 256-foot (78 m) Fall Creek Falls, the highest free-fall waterfall east of the Mississippi River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Bend State Park</span> State park in Texas, United States

Colorado Bend State Park is a 5,328.3-acre (2,156 ha) state park located in the Hill Country region of the U.S. state of Texas, mostly in San Saba County. It was purchased by the state in 1984 and opened to the public in 1987. It is representative of the karst features typically seen in the Hill Country, with many sinkholes, caves, and springs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curecanti National Recreation Area</span> National Park Service in Colorado, US

Curecanti National Recreation Area is a National Park Service unit located on the Gunnison River in western Colorado. Established in 1965, Curecanti National Recreation Area is responsible for developing and managing recreational facilities on three reservoirs, Blue Mesa Reservoir, Morrow Point Reservoir and Crystal Reservoir, constructed on the upper Gunnison River in the 1960s by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to better utilize the vital waters of the Colorado River and its major tributaries. A popular destination for boating and fishing, Curecanti offers visitors two marinas, traditional and group campgrounds, hiking trails, boat launches, and boat-in campsites. The state's premiere lake trout and Kokanee salmon fisheries, Curecanti is a popular destination for boating and fishing, and is also a popular area for ice-fishing in the winter months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Knob State Park</span> State Park in Pennsylvania, United States

Blue Knob State Park is a 6,128-acre (2,480 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Kimmel, Lincoln, and Pavia townships in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The average annual snowfall at the park is about 12 feet (370 cm). The park is named for Blue Knob, the second highest mountain in Pennsylvania at 3,146 feet (959 m). It is the location of Blue Knob All Seasons Resort, the ski slope in Pennsylvania with the highest elevation. Blue Knob State Park is just off Interstate 99 on Pennsylvania Route 869 west of Pavia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comanche National Grassland</span> Protected area in southeast Colorado

Comanche National Grassland is a National Grassland located in southeastern Colorado, United States. It is the sister grassland of Cimarron National Grassland and contains both prairie grasslands and canyons. It is separated into two sections, each operated by a local ranger district, one of which is in Springfield and the other of which is in La Junta. The grassland is administered by the Forest Service together with the Pike and San Isabel National Forests, and the Cimarron National Grassland, from common headquarters located in Pueblo, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wekiwa Springs State Park</span> State park in Florida, United States

Wekiwa Springs State Park is a 7,000-acre (28 km2) Florida State Park in Apopka, Florida. It is located 20 minutes north of Orlando, off Interstate 4 at exit 94, near Altamonte Springs and Longwood. The park also contains the head water of the Wekiva River. It also serves as the headquarters of one of the state's five AmeriCorps Florida State Parks chapters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park</span>

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park located in a region of the Appalachian Mountains referred to as the Great Smoky Mountains, in a portion of east-central Tennessee and southwest North Carolina. With over 150 hiking trails extending for more than 850 miles (1,370 km), within its boundaries, including a seventy-mile segment of the Appalachian Trail, hiking is the most popular activity in the national park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willow River State Park</span> State park in St. Croix County, Wisconsin

Willow River State Park is a 2,891-acre (1,170 ha) Wisconsin state park located five miles (8 km) north of Hudson. The centerpiece of the park is Willow Falls, a powerful cascade in a 200-foot (61 m) deep gorge. Another popular feature is Little Falls Lake, a shallow reservoir on the Willow River. Because of its proximity to Minneapolis-St. Paul it is one of the most visited state parks in Wisconsin. Trilobite fossils found in the lower layers of the gorge indicate the rock is around 600 million years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bald Eagle State Park</span> State park in Pennsylvania, United States

Bald Eagle State Park is a 5,900-acre (2,388 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Howard, Liberty, and Marion townships in Centre County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes the Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir, formed by damming Bald Eagle Creek and other smaller streams and covering 1,730 acres (700 ha). Bald Eagle State Park is at the meeting point of two distinct geologic features. The Allegheny Plateau is to the north and the Ridge and Valley area of Pennsylvania is to the south. The park is in the Bald Eagle Valley off Pennsylvania Route 150 in Howard, between Milesburg and Lock Haven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rancho San Antonio County Park</span>

Rancho San Antonio County Park and Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve are a conjoined public recreational area in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in the northwest quadrant of Santa Clara County, California. The County Park is bordered by Los Altos with some parts of the eastern part of the County Park in western Cupertino. The Open Space Preserve is on the west side of the County Park, also bordered by Los Altos Hills, Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, and the Permanente Quarry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eldorado Canyon State Park</span> State park in Colorado, United States

Eldorado Canyon State Park is part of the Colorado State Park system. It was established in 1978 and is located in Boulder County near the city of Boulder. The park consists of two areas, the Inner Canyon and Crescent Meadows. The park encompasses 885 acres (3.6 km2) with a variety of recreation opportunities available. Eldorado Canyon is home to one of the world's most accessible and comprehensive rock climbing areas. This state park is open during daylight hours only, visitors are expected to leave before dusk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugarite Canyon State Park</span> State park in New Mexico, United States

Sugarite Canyon State Park is a state park of New Mexico, United States, featuring a historic early-20th century coal-mining camp and natural scenery at the border of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains. The park is located on the Colorado–New Mexico state line 6 miles (9.7 km) in Colfax County, New Mexico, northeast of Raton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt Creek Falls</span> Waterfall in Lane County, Oregon

Salt Creek Falls is a cascade and plunge waterfall on Salt Creek, a tributary of the Middle Fork Willamette River, that plunges into a gaping canyon in the Willamette National Forest near Willamette Pass in Lane County, Oregon. The waterfall is notable for its main drop of 286 feet (87 m), ranking third highest among plunge waterfalls in Oregon, after Multnomah Falls and Watson Falls.) The pool at the bottom of Salt Creek Falls waterfall is 66 feet (20 m) deep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Havasu Creek</span> Stream in Arizona, United States of America

Havasu Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a tributary to the Colorado River, which it joins in the Grand Canyon. It primarily runs through the Havasupai Indian Reservation. It is sometimes called Cataract Creek, and should not be confused with Cataract Canyon, Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bear Creek Regional Park and Nature Center</span>

Bear Creek Regional Park and Nature Center is a regional park located in Colorado Springs, Colorado that has trails for hiking, horseback riding, running and cycling. Within the park is a nature center and the El Paso Park Headquarters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Cheyenne Cañon Park</span> United States historic place

North Cheyenne Cañon Park or North Cheyenne Canyon Park is a regional park located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is a National Register of Historic Places listing.

References

  1. "Colorado State Parks Region Annual Visitation Report" (PDF). Colorado Counties, Inc. 2023.
  2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rifle Falls State Park