bear creek falls

Doable by nearly anyone, the beauty of the hike is as enjoyable as the destination: river, gorge, canyon, trees, mountains, falls--wow.

It's a beautiful hike to take, you wont regret it! You can walk at your own pace and the locals who do the hike on a regular basis are wonderful cheerleaders, if you're not used to the high altitude or hiking. Even if youre a novice, you will kick yourself if you don't try it!

Hiked this trail many times before and during the bluegrass fest. It's beautiful but steep. Some good rock climbing off the trail.

We snow shoed up the great and beautiful canyon to Bear Creek Falls. The trail was easy to find but got a bit hairy at the end because some trees fell over and the trail was totally snowed over. We still loved it and will do it again! Fun to do in winter.

Fun to walk up winter and summer. An easy 5 mile hike with about 900 ft of elevation. Close to the gondola.

We didn't need to hike up to them. We could see them from the parking lot. They were quite picturesque in their frozen state. We figured the trail would be icy and stayed in the parking area.

I couldn't give this 5 stars because we didn't make it to the falls, (which we heard is gorgeous) but the trail is beautiful. We did hike about 3/4 of the way up and it's a great hike for those who don't hike, but if you are not used to the altitude take it slow.

great little hike from town. perfect to take the dogs. the falls are close and beautiful but all around telluride you can extend any hike into a long adventure. make sure to take you whistle and flashlight bc the weather changes and gets dark quick!

We hiked this trail in mid-Oct just as the Aspens were peaking. There were portions of the trail that were complete covered in golden aspen leaves--absolutely beautiful! There are many good reviews below so I will just try to add information that was not called out.1) About a half mile from the trailhead, there is a large wooden trail information sign. Take 5 minutes to read about the trail. There are write ups on about 12 different things you will see along the trail if you know where to look. Most of the sites are associated with the mining that occurred along this trail.2) About a quarter mile from the falls, there is a split in the trail. Stay to the right and that will take you up to the falls. The other trail will take you down to the stream.3) There is a nice, flat area to picnic near the "big rock"--just below the falls.4) Close to the falls, there is another split in the trail. The Wasatch Trail splits to the right and goes above the falls. If you take this trail, the difficulty and length will significantly increase. 5) This trail is for everyone. We saw dogs, children, young people and adults all going to the falls. Several people were running the entire trail! About half the people hiking were locals and about half were visitors. All were friendly and easy to talk to. 6) The round trip for the trail is about 5 miles so bring something to drink and snack on.7) There are no porto-potties along the trail, so plan accordingly. If you are in Telluride and only have time to do one hike, this is it!

We were told repeatedly by locals to hike this trail. After hiking See Forever Trail, Bridal Veil Falls, Mesa Verde National Park and Ridge Trail we decided to do this hike on our last day in Telluride. This is a great, easy hike with a few slight uphill climbs. The waterfall is definitely worth the hike. Although we didn't pass many people on our other hikes, we passed multiple people on this trail. It's 5 miles round trip. If you want to add more distance, take the Camels Garden trail which has great views of downtown Telluride. From there, you can take the Telluride Trail all the way to the Gondola at St. Sophia Station (you will actually hike under the gondola at times), or veer off towards Coonskin Loop to St. Sophia Station. Be forewarned, from the Telluride Trail this is all uphill and would probably be considered a black trail as it's pretty difficult, but worth the views in the end.

It was a beautiful spot with excellent views. There was a special area to see the falls. The road to get there is very good. However it is a mountain road with hairpin turns. It is worth the scarey drive!!

A gentle uphill 2.5 mile (more or less) hike on wide path through forest. Very nice to do in the fall when temperature was perfect and great views. Trail easily accessed off of walking trail along the river walk.

Great chill hike that starts in town. Perfect for my injured limb. Amazing views. The waterfall was pretty impressive. There's also this crazy/cool/weird cairn village on your way up. Pretty creative!

This was a wonderful trail!! About 1 mile each way if you stop at the waterfall. It was a pretty day with a few clouds. We got some great photos and saw a beautiful waterfall. The slope wasn't slippery on the rocks like I thought it would be because it was a bit drizzly up the trail. Not a lot of wildlife but beautiful plants and it is very well kept.

A local magazine I was reading said this was a beginner trail and easy for families. Luckily, we do a lot of hiking so we were just fine, but be forewarned, it's not for beginners as it's a lot of rocky, uphill climbing. That being said, it was absolutely beautiful and worth every step we took. Don't stop when you see the falls; make the steeper trek up to them until you feel the spray of the powerful falls. Absolutely breathtaking!