St. Mary's Falls Trail

Not the most spectacular falls by any means, but an average hike with some elevation gain. Heavy traffic with familes and dogs on a narrow trail most of the way. If you're up for the challenge and more miles I highly suggest continuing up to Mt. Rosa for some beautiful views.

You need a 4x4 , wrangler, SUV or truck to get to this trailhead. I am sure this is a 5-Star hike but we had to turn around since we were driving a hybrid rental car. The trail description does not mention this very important fact (about getting to the trailhead on a very rutted, narrow and rocky road). Travel safe!

One of the best trails. Great time

Falls are nice once you get there. The length of the hike is a bit much for a half-day outing. The initial portion on the forest road is exposed and hot, pretty forgettable. The trail itself is mostly covered, but a pretty consistent, significant uphill grade.

Really enjoyed this hike. Starts out easy on a old road with gradual gain. Then comes to a more typical much narrower trail through the trees with a more intense elevation gain. Views from the top were great. Be prepared to share the trail with mountain bikers and dirt bikes

Great hike with a little ice around the falls today.

It was not moderate; it was difficult. We went to check out the seven bridges trail... and ended on this trail. It was ok. The water was low but ok.

Worth checking out! Hike starts pretty slow/uneventful up an old road, however beautiful views of surrounding mountains/valleys, trail picks up before the actual start of the trail, watch out for signs, if you aren’t experienced as the trail isn’t all that well marked. The last .2 mile is the steepest but well worth it! Falls were slow as others have mentioned but still gorgeous and a great place to stop for lunch or to just recharge for the decent. Garmin tracked the trail around 6.8ish miles.

Trail was somewhat difficult to follow - not many signs to let you know if you were on the right track after trail forks. Lots of shade. Last portion was fairly steep but the views were worth it. Be careful as most hikers we encountered did not leash their dogs on this trail.

Soooooo, we didn’t make it to the trail because there was no mention of how horrible the road to the trailhead was. Wouldn’t recommend driving a small car, sedan or sports car because the road is full of potholes, rocks, uneven bumps and did I mention huge rocks sticking out of the road. So will review again when we returned with a proper vehicle.

It was so fun! We went too late and didn’t make it to the waterfall, we didn’t want to get stuck in the dark! We will be going back but earlier next time.

Even though the flow of the falls was a bit low, it was still beautiful and the overall view of Colorado Springs and surrounding mountains was absolutely breathtaking at the end of trail. I agree with some of the other posts that the trail is not well marked, however. We had to back track to the last stretch when we missed the ascent to the left that was only marked off by a large branch and some rocks. Hikers from out of town may just see that as a fun natural obstacle, as I did. Even with that though, this was still our favorite hike; more awe inspiring than Seven Bridges Trail.

My tracker placed the hike at 6.7 miles. It's pretty and offers nice mountain views along the way. But too many people fail to clean up after their dogs. Be careful as you walk this trail.

This is definitely a great trail. but if you are hiking all the way to the falls it is not moderate. and yes it is longer than stated. beautiful vistas.

Beautiful hike and great way to start the day. It was a little more difficult about 1/2 way to the top but worth it. We loved walking along the creek - very peaceful!

The one downfall with this hike is that there is NO way the signs are correct. This hike is way longer than 6-plus miles. You can even see where people wrote the longer distances in pencil on the signs. Besides that, great hike.

Great trail. Well marked. Pretty steep near the top. Dead ends at the falls. Actual falls are average. Give yourself half a day.

I wish there was more signage to let the hiker know the distance to the falls. That’s my biggest disappointment in this hike.

The trail itself is nice because you’re walking next to the creek for a good portion of the wooded trail.

I suggest hiking boots for ankle stability if that’s an issue for you. Bring snacks and plenty of water.

Great hike, with a nice payoff at the end. The view of the city and of the falls is outstanding. For a good portion of the trail the sound of rushing water is present as is the sound of birds and the wind in the trees. We spotted a rufous hummingbird and a host of tree swallows. We also heard countless other various birds along the way. But we weren’t there for the birding, so it was simply an added bonus.

It’s a fairly taxing hike for a middle-aged guy in ok shape (me!), but the 20-somethings we encountered along the way seemed to handle it without issue. I wouldn’t bring younger kids—mostly because the elevation change the last half mile could be difficult, and the overall length could be too much handle as well. I’m assuming that’s why, once we left Gold Camp Road at the trailhead, we didn’t run into anyone who appeared to be under the age of 16. I’m certain my 6 & 10 year old wouldn’t have lasted even though they are both extremely active in sports.

Overall, I recommend. Give it a try and see what you think!

Nice trail that is easy to follow and keeps you out of the sun. The walk from the parking lot to the trail is a dull way to start/finish a hike. Waterfall is barely more than a trickle right now but was refreshing to cool down. Only saw three others heading to the falls.

Beautiful little trail. Exposed portions in the summer but beautiful views of CoS. The falls at the end were nice and provided a great place to rest and admire the view.

Great trail for a stretch of the legs. Not easy and not hard you will be rewarded with some lovely forest hiking as well some great mountain views. Get to the parking lot early (before 8) or you might have trouble finding a spot

the picture is NOT St.Mary's falls, that pic is the Helen Hunt Falls. either way, St.Marys Falls Trail is a great stop off on the way to summit Mt.Rosa.

Good trail. The last run is not marked well. Very loose rocks and can be precarious on the way down. We got a tweaked ankle on way down. Worth the extra effort to get to the top. Stream running on left of trail most of the way. All in all a good trail but hard if not used to the elevation. Falls at top are at 9100’ Cover photo is wrong!!!!

Peaceful trail only down side it is not very well marked

such a great hike

Lovely trail with nice views of Colorado Springs on the way up.. a little slippery in a few spots but otherwise the trail is in good condition. (My Garmin measured the elevation at 8998 at the top of the falls)

Loved this trail. Me, two kids and a dog took us about 4 hours with a break at the top. Note: the cover photo for this looks like Helen Hunt Falls, NOT St. Mary's
We will definitely do this trail again.

A little more traffic than I originally expected on this trail but it was beautiful and the hike wasn’t too strenuous