These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
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On the way to the Ouray Via Ferrata, Box Canyon Falls (A.K.A Box Cañon Falls) in Ouray, Colorado is the perfect side adventure after a full day of running the Via Ferrata. Actually, this beautiful waterfall is worthy on its own as an excellent addition to your trip itinerary. Box Canyon Falls is such a unique waterfall, unlike most waterfalls we have seen before. A spectacular geological formation, the 285-foot waterfall is tucked away between imposing granite walls, thundering its way through a very narrow gorge with power and force. This impressive waterfall is located inside Box Cañon Falls Park. Besides the waterfalls, you can also take a short hike to the top of the gorge for beautiful views of Ouray and the high peaks of the Amphitheater Cirque.
Box Cañon Falls Park
30 Box Canyon Rd, Ouray, CO 81427
38.018149, -107.677551
Decent size parking in front of the park’s entrance
$5 | 4- 17 Years Old
$7 | 18 – 62 Years Old
$6 | 62 – 74 Years Old
For updated pricing, check out the park’s website.
9 am – 5 pm | May & October
8 am – 8 pm | Memorial Day – Labor Day
Closed | November – March
The Box Cañon Falls Park remains open all year round. They do close the Box Canyon Road in the wintertime. You can still park at the OHV Staging area or on 3rd Avenue and walk the road to get to the park.
Restroom in the Visitor Center
Pets are NOT allowed.
Box Canyon Falls Trail: 0.2 miles R.T.
High Bridge Trail: 0.5 miles R.T.
Box Canyon Falls Trail: 26 ft
High Bridge Trail: 203 ft
Easy
15 minutes – 1 hour
As we mentioned, Box Canyon Falls is located inside Box Cañon Falls Park in Ouray, Colorado. You can use the address above to map your way there. It’s pretty easy to find as there are signage along the way.
From Ouray
After a fun day doing both the Downstream and Upstream Routes on the Ouray Via Ferrata with Megan, we still had some energy left. So, we decided to check out Box Canyon Falls, just minutes from the Ouray Ice Park. After parking, we went into the Visitor Center to get our tickets. Inside the Visitor Center, there is some interesting information about the areas. It’s worth a quick stop if you have time. Once we got our tickets, we headed out to start our little adventure.
Our first stop is of course to the Box Canyon Falls. From the gate, we followed the sign toward the waterfalls. After a short distance, we came across the stairs on the left-hand side. This set of stairs takes visitors to the top of the gorge, along the High Bridge Trail. Since our destination was the waterfalls, we stayed on the dirt trail. It is a short walk along this dirt trail and down some stairs, before we reach the iconic walkway that runs along the towering canyon walls. On our way here, we spotted some super chunky squirrels with their cheeks stuffed with food. They were so adorable!
From the walkway, we could look down the railings and see the teal water, rushing through the narrow gorge. The thundering sounds of the plummeted water reached our ears before we could even see the waterfalls, as it was spilling thousands of gallons a minute of water over the falls. As we got closer to the waterfalls, we could feel the forces of the soaring water. There is something so magical and powerful about being in the presence of thundering waterfalls. At the Visitor Center, there is a poem by Ruth Gregory that aptly describes how we felt at this moment:
And in that cavernous shadow
We walk into mists sublime,
To stand in wondrous awe
Of the roar of eons of time.
About halfway through the walkway, there is a staircase leading down to the rushing creek below. At the bottom of the stairs, you can’t see much of the Box Canyon Falls unless you go a way out in the water. The best views of the waterfalls are either from the walkway or about halfway down the stairs. By the way, we don’t recommend going in the water. There are also signages at the bottom of the stairs warning you not to do so. It is because the rocks here are very slippery and the water is swift so it can be dangerous. That being said, the views of the creek are quite beautiful. You’ll also get different perspectives of the canyons.
Once we were done taking tons of photos, we headed back toward the Visitor Center to hike the High Bridge Trail. If you’re visiting, we highly recommend hiking this trail as well. It is a short, about 0.5-mile round trip trail that takes visitors to the top of the gorge where the Box Canyon Falls was. To start the High Bridge Trail, we climbed up the first staircase near the park’s entrance. These stairs are not that bad. At the top of the stairs, we reached a small wooden cabin with benches and an emergency phone just in case you need help.
After leaving the cabin, we followed a steep dirt trail to climb the hillside. This section of the trail is dusty and rocky. It can also be slippery. There are metal cables running alongside most of the steep sections so you can use them as handholds. We find these cables helpful on the way down. Even though it is short, the High Bridge Trail is steep and rocky. We recommend wearing decent hiking shoes if you want to do this hike.
Not too long after, we reached the high bridge. It is a neat metal bridge that spans across the gorge. From here, we could see the beautiful town of Ouray, Cascade Falls, and the high peaks of the Amphitheater Cirque. We could also see Canyon Creek cutting through the narrow gorge. Box Canyon Falls is the culmination of Canyon Creek before it meets up with the Uncompahgre River. Unfortunately, since the Box Canyon Falls is hidden between the canyon walls, we couldn’t see it from the high bridge. However, we could see a portion of the walkway.
On the other side of the high bridge is a cool tunnel, Ouray’s historic water tunnel, that connects to the Perimeter Trail. Perimeter Trail is a unique loop around the town of Ouray. If you’re ambitious, you can do this loop. It is 5.4 mi with an elevation gain of 1,499 ft. We were spent from our Via Ferrata run earlier so we turned back after checking out the tunnel.
By the way, if you love wildlife, especially hummingbirds, chipmunks, or squirrels, there are many of them hanging out near the entrance. They are super cute and not afraid of humans. We spent almost 45 minutes here at the end of the hike to watch the hummingbirds.
Box Canyon Falls was more impressive than we were expected. We highly recommend checking it out when you’re in the area. If you’re an adrenaline addict like we are, or up for a new adventure, we recommend trying out the Ouray Via Ferrata. If you have no idea what Via Ferrata means, you should do the tour instead with Gold Mountain. It is super fun!
Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to check out the related posts below for more inspiration on your upcoming adventures. While at it, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel! We’ll love you forever!
These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
If you tend to have foot blisters on hikes, get this! We use this all the time.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
It's always good to bring a GPS tracker with you. We use the Garmin inReach.
This is Vy's favorite hiking bag! It has tons of room for snacks and water!
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
Nice to meet you!
Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of That Adventure Life. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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