North Clear Creek Falls is an 85-foot horsetail waterfall on North Clear Creek in Hinsdale County, Colorado, in the Rio Grande National Forest. It pours off a volcanic rock shelf near Highway 149, the Silver Thread Scenic Byway, roughly halfway between Lake City and Creede, and a paved overlook with a short trail makes it an easy roadside stop.
The falls
The creek, a tributary of the Rio Grande, goes over the edge in a single segmented drop. The rock is Nelson Mountain tuff, volcanic ash from the San Juan volcanic field that erupted about 27 million years ago. Lidar data puts the drop at about 85 feet; the long-published figure is 100 feet, the figure still given by the managing agency and local tourism offices.
Getting there
A paved county road leaves Highway 149 and runs about half a mile to the overlook, which has parking, a short wheelchair-accessible trail, picnic tables and a vault toilet. The turnoff is about 25 miles from Lake City. The site is managed by the Rio Grande National Forest.
In winter Highway 149 is plowed but the half-mile access road is not. Visitors park at the falls sign on the highway or in the plowed lot on Forest Road 513 and go about a mile on a flat route groomed for snowmobiles, skiers and snowshoers.
When to go
The falls are typically frozen from mid-November to March, which makes them a winter snowshoe destination.
On site
The developed overlook is the place to watch and photograph the falls; a trail also leads out to a nearby bluff. Rules on dogs and access to the base aren't published.
History and name
Highway 149 follows the line of the Antelope Park–Lake City Toll Road, built in 1875 for wagon traffic; it became a state highway in 1933.
Nearby
South Clear Creek Falls is about 1.7 miles away. Lower North Clear Creek Falls, also on North Clear Creek, and Lower South Clear Creek Falls are each about 2.5 miles. Argenta Falls, on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River, is about 12.4 miles away.
Distances are straight-line.