Telluride Live

About

Bear Creek Falls Trail is one of Telluride's most popular hikes, and it starts right in town at the south end of South Pine Street. A wide dirt track climbs through the Town of Telluride's Bear Creek Preserve, in aspen and mixed conifer forest. After about 0.6 mile it enters Bear Creek Canyon, where gaps in the trees open onto the cliffs and peaks around you. The trail follows Bear Creek, though the Forest Service says the creek isn't visible from it.

At about 2 miles the trail meets the Wasatch Trail, and about 0.2 mile past that junction it ends at the base of Bear Creek Falls. The tourism board rates it easy and lists it at 4.5 miles out and back, with 1,092 feet of climbing and about 2.5 hours on your feet. Hikers and mountain bikers share it, and the Forest Service lists it for horseback riding too.

History

The San Miguel Conservation Foundation, working with the Town of Telluride, acquired a 320-acre parcel in Bear Creek Canyon and donated it to the people of Telluride in 1995, to keep Bear Creek as public open space.

When to go

Plan it as a summer and fall hike, and check trail conditions before you go. In winter, the tourism board says snowshoers, fat bikers and backcountry skiers use the trail, and it lists ice climbing here as well.

Good to know

You can walk to the trailhead from Colorado Avenue: turn south on Pine Street and keep going until the street becomes the dirt road that is the trail.

The Forest Service says there's no drinking water at the trail, so carry your own.

For a longer day, the Bear Creek and Wasatch trails combine into several loops, and the tourism board says the trail also connects toward Bridal Veil Basin.

Price

• AdmissionFree

The Forest Service charges no entrance fee for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests.

Prices checked November 2026 on the website of the US Forest Service. They can change, so check before you go.

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