Ingram Falls is a 320-foot tiered waterfall on Ingram Creek in San Miguel County, Colorado, dropping from Ingram Basin more than 2,000 feet above Telluride. It sits beside Bridal Veil Falls and is often overlooked next to its neighbor.
The falls
Ingram Creek leaves the basin in three plunges, dropping 320 feet in total, with the main drop at 235 feet; earlier estimates put the tallest drop at 125 feet. Black Bear Pass road fords the creek between the two largest tiers, with no bridge, so drivers on the pass cross the falls themselves.
Getting there
The falls are on the Black Bear Pass road, Forest Road 823. From Red Mountain Pass on US 550, the route runs 8.5 miles with 1,843 feet of gain over a 12,840-foot crest, then reaches a set of technical rock ledges called the Steps and tight switchbacks past Ingram Falls down to the Bridal Veil Powerplant. That last section, about a mile, is one-way downhill only. The road is rated for experts in high-clearance 4×4 vehicles, and rental cars are not allowed on it. It can also be hiked or biked.
Lower down, San Miguel County maintains the Ingram Creek Spur, a 0.2-mile path starting just past the Ingram Creek crossing on the Black Bear Pass road (K69) and connecting to the Bridal Veil Trail, which keeps hikers off the road. Dogs must be leashed and bikes are not allowed on it.
When to go
The pass road opened on July 14 in 2026 and was closed temporarily at the end of July after a vehicle became trapped in mud from a slide; check its status with San Miguel County before going. The county closes the nearby Bridal Veil Trail from December 1 to April 30. Snowmelt drives the strongest flows in this part of the Rockies.
On site
The road crossing puts visitors between the two largest tiers. The road itself is the main hazard: steep ledges, narrow switchbacks and a creek ford with no bridge.
Nearby
Bridal Veil Falls is about 0.5 mile away, at the bottom of the same road. Marshall Creek Falls is about 1.1 miles away, and Royer Creek Falls about 2 miles. Telluride is about 2.9 miles to the west.
Distances are straight-line.
