· Grand Mesa

Rifle Falls State Park

Aliases: Squirrel Trail

Rifle Falls is among Colorado’s most scenic and most accessible waterfalls. The presence of nesting Black Swifts adds some additional spice. They arrive around the first of June and leave in September; early morning and late evening are the best time to see them, though with some careful searching of damp, shaded crevices in the rocks near the falls, you may be able to spot birds on nests at any time of the day. Montane shrubland and pinyon-juniper forests surround the falls, with birds like Virginia’s and Black-throated Gray Warblers, Cordilleran, Dusky, and Gray Flycatchers, Pinyon and Western Scrub-Jays, and Green-tailed Towhee.

County: Garfield

Habitat: Lowland Riparian, Foothill Shrub, Pinyon-Juniper Forest, Scrub Oak Forest, Stream

Directions: Get off at the Rifle exit on I-70 (exit 90) and head 4 miles north on CO-13 to CO-325. Turn right onto CO-325 and follow this road north to the park in about 10 miles.

Delorme: 34 C4
Roads of Colorado: 67 D1-D2

Dates of Access: Open all year
Hours:
Ownership: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Admission: State Parks Pass

Restrictions: Please observe quite hours from 10 pm to 6 am. Dogs not allowed in the fish hatchery.

Parking: Parking areas
Lodging: Camping

Handicapped: No
Handicapped Access: Handicap accessible trail to the base of the falls and facilities, otherwise limited

Elevation: 6800

Latitude: 39.67401
Longitude: -107.70004

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