Fish Creek Falls

Drop everything

Is it plungeworthy?

80feet tall

A 2-tier tiered on Fish Creek.

Scale46/60

Documentation20/20

Character20/20

The details

Tiers: 2 drops
Type: Tiered
Watercourse: Fish Creek
Coordinates: 40.48141, -106.77131

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About Fish Creek Falls

Fish Creek Falls is a 80-foot tiered in Colorado, on Fish Creek. The water falls in 2 distinct tiers.

Fed largely by snowmelt, it runs hardest in late spring and early summer and can thin to a trickle by late season.

Plungeworthy rates Fish Creek Falls 8.6/10 — drop everything. The score weighs its scale, how confidently it's mapped, and its character.

What you'll find

Steamboat's hometown giant: Fish Creek pours 283 feet off the Park Range four miles from downtown. A paved quarter-mile overlook path serves the postcard view; the dirt trail beyond climbs to Upper Falls for those who want to earn a second act.

Getting there

Trailhead: Fish Creek Falls Trailhead, 4 miles east of Steamboat Springs
Parking: On-site lot with restrooms; fills by ~10am in summer
Road: Paved
Hike: 4.7 mi round trip, 1,427 ft of climb (moderate)
Heads up: The 0.6-mile overlook option is wheelchair accessible. Past the bridge the trail turns rocky and steep toward Upper Falls.

When to go

June through September for the full trail. Mind the standing spring closure: the footbridge and upper four miles close roughly April 1 – July 1 every year for high water — runoff season is overlook-only, which is also when the falls thunder hardest.

Rules & fees

Fee / pass: $5/vehicle day use, or the $30 Medicine Bow–Routt annual pass
Dogs: Leashed in the developed area
Hours: None fixed
Camping: Dry Lake (~8 miles, near Strawberry Park Hot Springs) and Summit Lake on Buffalo Pass
Warnings: Wet rock near the brink; respect the seasonal bridge closure.

Researched from USFS — Fish Creek Falls Trail #1102 · USFS — annual bridge closure. Conditions change — verify before you drive. Been to Fish Creek Falls recently? Post a conditions report below.

Where it is

Before you go

The pin marks the feature, not a trailhead or a legal route in. Some sit on private land or need a real hike, and conditions change with season and rain. Check local access, don't trespass, and never enter water — hot or cold — where it isn't safe.