Hiking Telluride’s Bridal Veil Falls

So, just to recap, Telluride CO is a must-see destination for you and your loved ones or really anyone that you know. I took the picture below in the middle of town!! I mean, who gets to experience that kind of beauty just lollygagging around town?? That’s right…Telluridians. (I totally just made that word up.) And maybe Switzerlandians. (Or Swiss… but I like my word better.)

Once again, I digress!

While there are many, many activities that I could recommend for you to do while in Telluride, I think if you only had time to do one thing before skipping town, it should be hiking up to Bridal Veil Falls.  It’s not just the waterfall that’s impressive, it’s the entire package. Bridal Veil Falls is the tallest free-falling waterfall in the state of Colorado. It thunders down a towering 365 feet, and is truly an impressive display of nature!

Let me show you what I mean.

When my husband and I first drove into Telluride, it was late in the day and the sun was just setting.  We drove in through Main St. and followed it out of town a little way.  We could see the waterfall, so we got out of the car, and looked around.  What really struck me was the sound of rushing water.  Not only can you hear the thunder of Bridal Veil Falls, but you also can hear all the snow melt waterfalls as well!

You literally could look in any direction and see a waterfall trickling or rushing down the cliff walls.  It was too late to try and do any hiking that first day, so we went on our merry little way to return the next day!

Here are some specifics on hiking to this waterfall:

Directions:

Stay on the Main St of Telluride and follow it as it approaches the Mountains.  You’ll see the Old Mill on your left, and the road will turn to dirt/gravel.  Just a little past the Old Mill, you’ll see the water holes that I have pictured above.  You can park in this area and continue to hike up the Jeep trail, or if you are in the proper vehicle, you can just follow the road right up to the falls.

Things to Consider:

• If you are visiting during the summer, I would wait until mid-afternoon to go up.  The noon sun can be rather harsh, and the morning light is a little harsh for getting good pictures.
• Wear a hat and wear sunscreen! I had a horrible sunburn after this hike without them!
• I highly suggest hiking up past the power plant at the top of the waterfall! It just keeps getting more beautiful!
• Bring any waterproof or water protective gear if you wanna get pictures at the base of the falls! You WILL get wet!

The Bridal Veil Falls trail is technically a Jeep path.  If you have a 4×4 vehicle,  you can actually drive right up to the base of the falls, and even continue on to the top of the falls. Once you get to the gate however, you are no longer allowed to climb the path by vehicle and must continue on foot.

We didn’t have a 4×4 vehicle (although they do have rentals in the area), so we hiked it the good old fashioned way!

I definitely recommend hiking over driving if at all possible.  It was certainly strenuous at times, but walking allowed me a lot more time to take in the scenery!  Having the valley views throughout my hike was really special.

The path was pretty wet at the beginning of June from all the snowmelt, but the weather was great! The sun is very direct up here, so I would definitely advise a hat and some shades! I got a pretty severe sunburn after our hike!

The hike was what I would consider moderately difficult.  The trail was very wide and gravel-topped.  It didn’t have super intense inclines, but they were gradual and continuous.  We hiked a little beyond the top of the waterfall, and it took us right around 3 hours round trip.

You could feel the waterfall before you could actually see the base of it.  (And of course you could hear it!) Right before we rounded the corner to the base I started to feel a fine mist!

Of course we were soaking wet after standing in the area for about 10 minutes! But it was really cool to stand so close to the bottom of such a tall waterfall! I hopped back and forth behind the trees, trying in vain to protect my camera from the mist! Make sure and plan ahead – bring your GoPro for waterproof pics and a protective bag for your nice camera!

We had no choice but to continue on up to the top of the falls.  I’m really glad we did, because the views of the valley only got better, not to mention it gave us a unique view of the falls!

You can see that the trail doesn’t have rails or anything.  I saw more than one 4 wheel drive vehicle have trouble with the sharp turns, but it can be done if walking isn’t an option for you! Just keep in mind that once you get to the gate you’ll have to turn around and come back down!

Once you get to this gate you are almost to the privately owned power plant.  You can’t actually walk up to it because it’s privately owned, but you can see the mouth of Bridal Veil Falls.  I highly recommend continuing on the path at least a little ways past the power plant.  The path will actually go quite a bit further, taking you into Bridal Veil Basin.  There are trails and alpine lakes out that way, but I was unfortunately only able to go a short distance so I could get back to Main St for the Balloon Night Glow. (Read more about what to do in Telluride)

I would like to return to hike further past the power plant a little later in the summer next time.  With all the snow melt, the whole path was covered in trickling water. The views were amazing though! It was definitely worth the effort we put in!

Well, I hope y’all enjoyed the pictures, and I hope I’ve inspired you to plan your visit!

Don’t forget to leave me a comment! Have you been to Telluride?? What’s your favorite spot there??

I wanna know!

Until next time!