State Parks of Rifle Colorado & Beyond
Located in the northwestern part of Colorado are three state parks just north of the town of Rifle. It’s highly unusual to have three separate state parks in such a small area, but they are each quite unique featuring reservoirs, waterfalls, and caves.
Rifle Ponds Wildlife Viewing Trail
On the way to our next site, we stop at one of Colorado’s rest stops for lunch and take the time to walk around the Rifle Ponds Wildlife Viewing Trail on offer here. The view of the white Bookcliffs to the northwest is stunning, especially reflecting in the water.
Rifle Gap State Park
Located on the western edge of Colorado’s White River Plateau, this state park features a 360-acre reservoir. The water level is so low they’ve closed it to motorized boats for the remainder of the season. Good thing, we’re only using it as a base camp to explore the area.
Lakeview Campground
Sitting up high in the hills surrounding the reservoir, the campground offers panoramic views of the park and the valley below. We only see a sliver of the reservoir but with the water so low that’s a good thing. The sunrises and sunsets by contrast are spectacular.
Campground Views
Rifle Arch Trail
Our first adventure in the area is the highly rated Rifle Arch Trail. Located to the west of the campground and NW of the town of Rifle, the trail is the only hiking trail among a group of mountain biking trails. So, while we don’t have to worry about bikes coming up on us as we’re walking, we can see them through the trees and at some of the junctions.
As we’re coming down the trail, we notice the haze in the distance with a faint smell of smoke in the air. And once we’re back at camp having lunch, we find that we’re on the edge of two different air-streams that are bringing smoke from the fires in Washington and Utah. Hopefully it’ll clear out quickly.
Rifle Falls State Park
Our wish has been granted! The air is crisp and clean this morning with views for miles. So, we head NE to Rifle Falls State Park to see the main reason we’re in the area… Rifle Falls.
Rifle Falls
Ranked among the top 10 waterfalls in the state, these falls do not disappoint. Especially since we can see them from several viewpoints and angles.
To see and hear the falls for yourself click this link to go to our YouTube page.
Rifle Caverns
Past the falls, we head north along the Coyote Trail to see Rifle Caverns. Most of the caverns are small but there are a few we can actually enter and look around.
Bobcat Trail
After the caverns, we deviate from the Coyote Trail and head up the Bobcat Trail which takes us through the woods along East Rifle Creek.
At the trail junction with the Fish Hatchery, we decide to follow the trail south back to the falls and visit the Hatchery after lunch.
When we finish the Bobcat trail, we rejoin the Coyote trail and follow it around to the top of the falls and eventually back to the lower observation area where we started the day. The best pictures from both visits are included above.
Cascade Picnic Area
On the way north to the Fish Hatchery, we stop at the Cascade Picnic Area / Bobcat Trail northern trailhead. There’s a small parking area, an old chimney, a few shaded picnic tables, and a couple of characters hoping we’ll accidentally drop some of our lunch. Sorry guys, we didn’t have any accidents and we don’t feed the wildlife, but we do appreciate the free entertainment.
Passing the old chimney and crossing the East Rifle Creek bridge, we very quickly discover the first of the cascades.
Rifle Cascades
Heading further up the trail, we look up and stop dead at what’s in front of us. All we can say is… Wow! These cascades are not well advertised but they should not be missed.
In addition to their beauty, these cascades also server a vital purpose. They naturally filter the water coming out of the Fish Hatchery further upstream. If you’d like to experience their movement and sound, click here.
Rifle Fish Hatchery
Two of us continue up the trail while the third turns back to get the Jeep and meet us at the Fish Hatchery.
What a park! For such a small area it offers quite a bit. Rifle Falls exceeded our expectations; the caves are fun to explore, and the Cascades are an incredible surprise.
Harvey Gap State Park
The smallest of the three state parks, this one is day-use only and the reservoir water level depends entirely on the water flowing down the Grass Valley Canal from Rifle Falls State Park and the needs of the farms and ranches surrounding it.
Grass Valley Reservoir
We found the water level to be higher than expected with boats still able to launch from the docks. There were several small fishing boats in the water with even more fisherman on the shores.
Grass Valley Reservoir Loop
Our goal here is the Grass Valley Reservoir Loop Trail located at the extreme southern end of the reservoir with the trailhead on the dam. Although this trail is not advertised on the park’s website or brochure, we found it to be one of the best trails in the area. It offers incredible views of the reservoir and surrounding landscape, travels through both marshlands and forests giving abundant opportunities to see wildlife, and most unexpectedly has two visible waterfalls along the trail.
Although this trail was a lot more that what we expected, the park is much smaller and after finishing the hike none of us are ready to head back to camp yet. So, we look for something else in the area and decide to drive around Burning Mountain through New Castle, CO and into the town of Silt, CO for lunch.
The drive is beautiful, the small towns interesting, and as for lunch… the atmosphere is better than the food.
An Unexpected Fire
Our last day in the area is spent doing laundry and picking up packages in nearby Rifle and as we’re walking around the campsite just after sunset, we see a large smoke plume to the SW. Heading a little higher on the hill, we can actually see the flames in the distance.
Once we get back to the camper, we pull up the wildfire layer in Windy and find out it’s a brand-new fire just outside of Parachute, CO which is less than 30 miles away. Good thing, we’re leaving in the morning.
Next stop… Aspen, CO – Waterfalls, Wildlife, & Views
