It took me about 10 minutes longer to reach the Upper Parking lot, there were 2 other cars in the small parking lot when I arrived on a cloudy weekday afternoon. It took me a while to get Magnolia situated in her pack, and then we hit the trail. Immediately, I was faced with 2 trails from the parking lot, since there is no formal map, I just chose left and started walking. The trail is wide and continued through the forest and next to the stream. Eventually the trail comes to another trail split, there is a trail sign here (although it was knocked down), and you could take the trail left and up to the Cliffs Loop or down/right toward the falls. I decided that I wanted to check out both the Cliffs Loop (since I was not familiar with it at all) and the falls, so Magnolia and I took the Cliffs trail up for about 20 minutes and shortly after the split the trail continues out of the woods and you have views of the surrounding mountains which were full of fall color! We hiked on this until we reached another trail split; I wasn't sure which way to go, and so we turned around to go back to Maxwell Falls.
Getting there: The Upper Maxwell Falls Parking lot can be found on a google map here.
Basically head to Evergreen, and from the center of town and take Hwy 73 South for 1 mile, turn right onto Brook Forest Road and drive for 5.2 miles, then Brook Forest Road turns into Black Mountain Drive on a curve (you barely will notice this) for 1.2 miles. The trailhead parking lot is on the left.
Also, here is exact location -- 39.562323408383634,-105.37657856941223
Specs: There are no rest rooms, trail maps, or any facilities at this parking lot.
The Hike: The Cliffs loop, from what I read online, is a 3-4 mile loop that offers views galore in the Maxwell Falls area, up above the falls on the cliffs above. I must get back to do this hike sometime this fall, hopefully the color will still be there. It was truly beautiful, we had the trail to ourselves, and we enjoyed it!
Near the parking lot, shortly after the sign (which has no map); if you are looking at the trails, I took the one to the left.
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On the Cliffs Loop Trail
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Views and Color.
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Fall is my favorite season in Colorado! I love love love love the fall colors!
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Here you can see some of the cliffs. I found some great information about this trail;
"The Cliff Trail Loop: 3 Miles – Start at the Upper Maxwell Falls trailhead lot.
The trail will split a couple times and you’ll want to bear left,
following the signs that point you down the Cliff Trail. You’ll climb a
bit to a rock promontory that gives you beautiful views of the valley
below. You will begin a descent to the creek bed, then the trail will
turn and head upstream. Follow it until you hear the falls. After the
falls, follow the trail back up to the upper lot." -- Info that I found on this site Day hikes near Denver.
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Rocky path
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A little aspen tree in full color. So cute.
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Cliffs near the waterfalls.
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One of my favorite shots of the fall trickle left at Maxwell Falls, I offer this print for sale here; and many other photos are available in print if you'd like to contact me for more information.
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A little chipmunk came up and said 'hi' to Magnolia and I.
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The creek, and the fall trickle.
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Pinecones and aspen trees
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Standing in the falls and looking DOWN, there is no way you could do this in the spring/summer months, but during the fall, the water is a trickle of what it can be.
After taking photos of the falls, Magnolia and I hiked the 20+ minutes back to the car. On the hike back, I came across a couple visiting Denver from out of town and they asked about trails in the area. After chatting for a while, I mentioned that I had a hiking blog and my daughter and I hike often in the area; they were planning another hike and asked for suggestions. What was my favorite hike, ever? I couldn't answer, I guess I don't know because I have so many favorites, but it made me think that I should compose a list of favorite/best hikes in the area. Look forward to that post soon!
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Back to the parking lot with a fussy baby on my back, we lost a second pacifier on this trail, somehow, even though it was clipped to the carrier. But Magnolia still managed to find sleep in the car on the way home.
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Tired fussy baby in her Kelty backpack.
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Thanks for reading my post, please comment if you have any questions or information about the hike. If you'd like to join my mailing list and be updated when I post new trails (2-3) times per month, click here to subscribe.
I also offer some of my photography for sale here, and will sell prints of my photos if you'd like to commemorate your hike with a professional photo. Just contact me for more info.
Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Jane and I'm with Dwellable.
I was looking for blogs about things to do in Evergreen to share on our site and I came across your post...If you're open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
Hope to hear from you, and Happy Holidays!
Jane