The Broadmoor's Seven Falls

Usually I am the one to find locations and plan out trips, but when my parents came to town for my little sister’s spring break, I sat back and let them take the reigns. Of course, my mom found a great spot in Colorado Springs at The Broadmoor’s Seven Falls. (You can read about our entire weeklong trip in this separate blog post, here!)

​It is a relatively easy hike to the spectacular waterfall with unbelievable views that make the uphill climb worth every tough breath for my non-altitude-acclimated family.

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The Broadmoor's shuttle takes you from the parking lot to the trailhead.

We met around 9:30 a.m. in a parking lot at The Broadmoor to take a shuttle bus toward the paystation and trailhead. It cost us $12 per person to enter the grounds, and once we paid our fees, we were off and ready to go.

To get to the falls you take a nice, wide, paved path that winds around gigantic natural rock structures which shoot out of the ground with bright, orange coloring. We were on the trail at the beginning of March, so much of the surrounding landscape was still frozen. As we continued toward the falls, we started to see more and more icicles on the colorful canyon walls, and the creek alongside us started to be less visible under the ice. ​

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The "Pillars of Hercules".

Using a Lensball to photograph the formations.

One of the gazebos along the trail to the falls.

​The Seven Falls were created by the South Cheyenne Creek which is one of the main water sources for the city of Colorado Springs. The trail follows alongside it all the way until the waterfall, and there are convenient benches and gazebos along the way for stopping and appreciating the rushing water.

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​When you get to the top of the trail, there are several things to do and see besides gawking at the magnificent waterfall. There is a gift shop, a restaurant, and two sets of stairs that lead to better vantage points. I decided to take one of the aforementioned stairwells to get a better view. ​

The gift shop at the bottom of the Eagles Nest viewpoint.

Walking up the stairs to the Eagle's Nest viewpoint.

Since the stairs leading to the Eagle’s Nest weren’t iced over, we chose to walk them first. There are 185 steps from the bottom to the top, and they are steep and narrow. We took our time going up and took a rest when we made it to the platform at the top. 

Even at the top, there was another little gift shop, but this one had a much better view. Outside on its patio were rocking chairs, benches, and stationary binoculars that looked down onto the entire waterfall from a higher cliff's edge perspective. We caught our breath and took in the 360 degree views before heading back down.  ​

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My younger sister hiking up the stairs to the Eagle's Nest.

The view from the Eagle's Nest onto the frozen Seven Falls.

​At the base of the waterfall is a beautiful riverside restaurant. The hours of the restaurant are varying and it wasn't open at the early hour we were there, but that didn't keep my family from sitting on its large patio area and enjoying the view of the waterfalls. While my family stayed on the ground, I chose to go up and get a closer view of the waterfall. 

Restaurant 1858 at the bottom of the Seven Falls.

Hiking up the stairs closest to the Seven Falls.

​This other stairwell follows closer alongside the waterfall and leads up to a hiking area along the fall’s beginning. Since they are so close to the splashing water, the stairs were completely frozen over when we were there. I attempted to walk up but was stopped only about a quarter of the way when the stairs became dangerous. ​

The frozen over Seven Falls.

The view from halfway up the stairwell.

​I quickly yet safely made my descent back to my family where we regrouped and started our walk back together. We were all so impressed with the immaculate place we had just been, and even the walk back through the canyon was just as spectacular, since the sun was starting to peep out. The final, sunny view and the entire hike made for a perfect morning.

Similar Links: 
​Family Spring Break Around The Rocky Mountain State
College Spring Break in Breckenridge
Skiing, Soaking, and Singing in Steamboat Springs 
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