In continuation of our Colorado series, the day before we visited Garden of the Gods, we covered another famous attraction in Colorado Springs – Seven Falls.
Seven Falls sounded promising when we first heard about it, and it lived up to our expectations. It’s a privately owned attraction, opened to the public since 1880, formed naturally in the attractive South Cheyenne Canyon.
We left for the Norris Penrose Event Center in the morning, our pickup point for the park. They don’t have parking at the park (only bike parking), so a complimentary shuttle service is provided to tourists from the Norris Penrose Event Center. We reached the Norris Center, which was a bit difficult to find (poor GPS), parked our car, and waited for the shuttle. There was a long queue of tourists, all waiting for the shuttle.
When the shuttle arrived, it filled up quickly, and we were still behind in the queue (more waiting, no, please!). To our luck, two seats were still unoccupied, and the people in front of us were in large groups, so we were asked to board.
The park is about 4 miles from the Norris Center, so it didn’t take much time to get there. At the entrance, again, there was a long queue for tickets (wished this could have been done in the center itself), which we spent close to 1.5 hours in (cap is recommended; there is no shade). The ticket price is $16 per adult, and they also have a tram (costing $2 per adult) to reach the Fall, which is about a 1-mile walk from there. We wanted to take the tram after standing for so long, but didn’t have the patience to wait in another line for it (not to mention their frequency), so we decided to walk.
Walking was actually a good option, as the place is surrounded by beautiful rock formations and creative structures, offering opportunities for photography. We reached the fall after taking enough time to observe the surroundings. Seven Falls, as the name suggests, is a stream that falls from a height of 181 feet, forming 7 waterfalls, each with its own name. It’s the only waterfall in Colorado, featured in Nat Geo’s list of international waterfalls.
To watch the falls up close, one has to climb the 224-step staircase :). So basically, it would be a nice physical activity, considering your walk from the entrance and the stairs, and there is more to it.
Those who don’t want to or can’t climb the stairs can watch the fall from an observatory just opposite the Falls. Check out the observatory in the picture:
Many preferred to stay at the bottom, and, as the pictures show, the stairs were narrow, allowing only two people (1 ascending and 1 descending) at a time. There was a point in the middle, kind of an observation point, wide enough for many people to stand (also benches to sit), from which pictures can be taken, and falls can be observed up close. The video is taken from the same point:
Many chose to return from that point itself. We continued our climbing, which was fun. We highly recommend taking the stairs, as once you’re at the top, you will feel thrilled for sure.
There are 2 trails once you reach the top. Besides watching the fall from the top, hiking is a good option. We hiked a trail for a few minutes (didn’t complete it to return on time) and then returned to the viewpoint.
After coming down the stairs, we thought of checking the view from the observation center as well. There is a small tunnel through which one has to take an elevator to reach the Observatory. We used the elevator to reach the center (stairs are available too) and spent some time there. From the observation point, the whole area can be viewed and captured through the camera.
We decided to head back to our hotel, and before that, we checked the gift shop, which was actually pricey, and we didn’t find anything attractive. We bought two ice-creams from there and started walking (1 mile) towards the entrance. Queues were not yet done with us :D, now one more long queue for the shuttle. We waited in the queue for a long time and were very tired. After 2 shuttles, our turn came, and we were, like, dead on the bus. The shuttle dropped us off at the Norris Center, and we drove back to our hotel. It was a good and tiring trip, took our whole day 🙂
Points to Consider :-
- Be prepared for long, long queues.
- No parking at the park, except for bikes.
- The shuttle is the only option available from Norris Center.
- Keep in mind that more time will be needed due to lines for shuttles, tickets, and trams.
- Bring water
Activities to do :-
- Hiking trails
- Walking
- Zip-lining (yes, it’s available, but at our time it was closed due to some reasons)
- Dining
Leave your comments and questions and let me know if you like this post.
Happy Reading! Keep Traveling!!!
Leave a Reply