Fish Creek Falls
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Fish Creek Falls is a waterfall in Colorado, at a modelled elevation of 2,281 m. Lost Ranger Peak stands 3,641 m to the north-northeast, 15 miles off. Flat Tops Trail passes 22 miles off.
The story
Fish Creek Falls is a waterfall located about 5 miles to the east of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in Routt National Forest. Fish Creek runs from several small lakes in the Rabbit Ears Range of Colorado. In the summertime, the road to Fish Creek Falls often becomes clogged in mid-afternoon with tourists wanting to see the 283-foot-tall (86 m) waterfall. There are two hiking trails from the parking lot at the end of Fish Creek Fall Road. One is 1/4 of a mile (400 m) and goes through several Aspen groves with the occasional Subalpine Fir. It ends at a viewing station where the entirety of the falls can be seen. The other trail goes straight down into the U-shaped valley formed by glaciers. As it nears the bottom of the valley, one can hear the rushing sound of water over the fall and see beautiful Fish Creek. The trail continues on to Upper Fish Creek Falls and then on to the Wyoming Trail, a long trail running the northwestern mountains of Colorado to Wyoming. The falls provide a great place for ice climbing in the winter when 300+ inches of snow (7.6 m) fall on the mountains east of Steamboat Springs.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q37751, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 22.2 mi off the Flat Tops Trail
Overlooks nearby
- Dunckley Pass Overlook · 28 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Storm Peak: 2.3 mi
- Mount Werner: 2.4 mi
- Sunshine Peak: 2.6 mi
- Buffalo Mountain: 2.8 mi
- Howelsen Hill: 3.6 mi
- Miku Park: 2.9 mi
- Memorial Park: 2.9 mi
- Ski Town Park: 2.9 mi
- Casey's Pond: 3.1 mi
- Rotary Park: 3.2 mi
- Fish Creek Falls: 0.0 mi
- Steamboat Gondola: 2.0 mi
- Yampa River Botanic Park: 3.1 mi
- Yampa River Botanic Park: 3.1 mi
- Rotary Park Boardwalk: 3.2 mi
- Modern Victory Garden: 2.9 mi
- Bear Park Permaculture Center: 3.6 mi
- River Run: 3.3 mi
- Steamboat Spirit: 3.5 mi
- Carl Howelson Statue: 3.3 mi
- Wheeler Memorial: 24.3 mi
- Tread of Pioneers Museum: 3.3 mi
- Steamboat Art Museum: 3.4 mi
- Fish Creek Upper Falls: 1.2 mi
- Stehley Park: 2.8 mi
- Sulphur Spring: 3.7 mi
- Strawberry Park Hot Springs: 6.8 mi
- Stagecoach Swim Beach: 14.4 mi
- Dennis Hump: 19.5 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 21.7 miles of Fish Creek Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lost Ranger Peak | NNE 20° | 3,641 m | 15.3 mi |
| Mount Ethel | NNE 23° | 3,625 m | 12.4 mi |
| The Dome | NNE 14° | 3,581 m | 14.5 mi |
| Horse Thief Peak | NNE 12° | 3,314 m | 9.4 mi |
| Soda Mountain | NNE 31° | 3,295 m | 5.6 mi |
| Little Haystack Mountain | ESE 109° | 3,248 m | 21.7 mi |
| Gore Mountain | SSE 161° | 3,237 m | 18.8 mi |
| Mount Werner | SE 137° | 3,220 m | 2.4 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:11 | 18:43 | 19:19 |
| June solstice | 05:38 | 20:01 | 20:42 |
| September equinox | 06:55 | 18:30 | 19:06 |
| December solstice | 07:28 | 16:01 | 16:44 |
Local time (America/Denver).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 17 | 21 | 31 | 41 | 50 | 58 | 65 | 63 | 55 | 43 | 30 | 18 |
| Precip in | 2.5 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.0 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Steamboat Springs, 3 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: May–Jul — fullest in Jun, leanest in Feb.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 5.9 | 5.6 | 10.7 | 38.9 | 214 | 369 | 75.4 | 9.6 | 10.2 | 12.3 | 10.4 | 7.5 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Fish CR AT Upper Sta NR Steamboat Springs, CO, under a mile away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/5002245843
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