Vail is a great place for waterfalls. The steep hillsides and melting snow create beautiful cascades.
There is Booth Falls, East Vail Falls, Pitkin Falls, Piney Creek Falls and Bighorn Falls. While scrolling through the AllTrails app, I found a waterfall I had not heard of — Murphy Falls.
The hike starts at Bighorn Park in Vail. You’ll see an open space area just south of the park, with a single track trail through the grass. That’s the trail. There’s a "No Trespassing" sign, but that’s to keep people from wandering over to the nearby condos and garages.
As you head up the hill, "Up" becomes the word of the day. This hike gets steep!
In 1/7 of a mile, you’ll come to your first creek crossing. There’s a nice, fat log here to help. Then the hike gets even steeper!
As you climb, enjoy the wildflowers on the hillside. I found larkspur, valerian and other flowers in late May.
There’s another water crossing before you climb up to a second small meadow with a view.
Keep going up. At just 0.3 miles from the park, you’ll come to the first waterfall. Let’s call this lower Murphy Creek Falls. A short side trail leads to the bottom of the waterfall. You can even stand under it!
To see the upper falls, continue hiking up the trail. You’ll hike in a dense forest with a couple meadows with views. There are also some beautiful sections of aspen tree forest here that would be impressive in the fall when the leaves are changing.
About 0.9 miles from the park, you’ll come to a creek crossing with a lot of logs and branches. There are two paths -- one goes across the water and one goes uphill along the creek. Do not cross the creek. Go up the creekside trail just a few steps to see Murphy Falls.
This is your turnaround point, creating a hike of about two miles with about 450 feet of elevation gain.
If you have the AllTrails app, it shows the trail continuing another quarter mile. That trail ends at an access road for some nearby cell towers and other equipment. Hiking to the towers creates a hike of about 2.6 miles with 570 feet of elevation gain.
For directions, look up Bighorn Park in Vail and park along the side of Juniper Lane or E. Meadow Drive. Parking spots are available.
If you have any questions, or hike suggestions, email me at HikingDebbie@gmail.com and find more great hikes by following me on Facebook at Facebook.com/DenverHikingExaminer.