Lower Frijoles Falls

One for the list

Is it plungeworthy?

—feet tall

A waterfall on Rito de los Frijoles.

Scale12/60

Documentation15/20

Character8/20

The details

Watercourse: Rito de los Frijoles
Coordinates: 35.76087, -106.25892

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About Lower Frijoles Falls

Lower Frijoles Falls is a waterfall in New Mexico, on Rito de los Frijoles.

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

Plungeworthy rates Lower Frijoles Falls 3.5/10 — one for the list. The score weighs its scale, how confidently it's mapped, and its character.

What you'll find

Know what this listing is before you drive: a real waterfall on Frijoles Creek below the Upper Falls — that no one has been able to legally reach in over a decade. The Falls Trail once continued past it to the Rio Grande, but post-fire floods in 2011 and 2013 tore the trail off a cliff face, and the Park Service judged the rebuild not worth the cost.

The maintained trail now ends at the Upper Falls overlook, and the Park Service's own page is blunt that it goes no further. Hike the Falls Trail for the Upper Falls; this one is a map memory.

Getting there

Heads up: No legal route exists — the trail below Upper Falls was destroyed and will not be rebuilt.

When to go

Not reachable.

Rules & fees

Warnings: The old trail alignment below Upper Falls is closed, washed out, and dangerous.

Researched from National Park Service — Falls Trail, Bandelier. Conditions change — verify before you drive. Been to Lower Frijoles 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.