Silver Cascade Falls Trail and Helen Hunt Falls

North Cheyenne Cañon Park, Colorado

Silver Cascade Falls Trail is a nice little path about 0.3 miles from the Helen Hunt Falls Visitor Center to the top of Silver Cascade Falls. The elevation at the trailhead is 7,225 feet and the top of Silver Cascade Falls is 7,400 feet, for a gain of only 175 feet—therefore, the grade of the dirt path is gentle and not very strenuous. North Cheyenne Creek, which drops 1,800 feet over the course of 5 miles in a series of cascades and waterfalls, is the source of both of these falls. On your way to the top you will cross a bridge spanning the top of Helen Hunt Falls where you can look down on the water flowing over the cliff—you will also cross a little footbridge near the end of the trail where you will see a beautiful cascade just perfect for some waterfall photography. The reddish colored boulders add a great contrast to the white water of this little stream when you slow the shutter speed down on your camera, so remember to bring your tripod on the hike. Once at the top of the trail there is a large lookout area where you can see Silver Cascade Falls, and on a clear day I would imagine you also get good views of the surrounding scenery. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see much of the valley below because of the cloud cover. Silver Cascade Falls also has a unique fountain-like formation where the water flows into a depression in the rock and then spouts back out—look for this interesting feature about half way up the trail.

Note: The base of Helen Hunt Falls can be accessed at the visitor center via a short walkway—this is also a lovely waterfall that makes for great photography.