COSights
North Clear Creek Falls drops in a white ribbon over a sheer tan rhyolite cliff into a deep rocky gorge, with the water catching bright morning light. Open grassland and low dark hills stretch across the background under a clear blue sky.

North Clear Creek Falls

Creede, CO

North Clear Creek Falls is a 100-foot waterfall that plunges over a rhyolite cliff into a rocky gorge. A short paved trail leads to an overlook with a direct view of the falls surrounded by dense spruce forest. The waterfall is located along the Silver Thread Scenic Byway between Lake City and Creede.

Photography Guide

Best Time
morning
Crowds
Quiet
Shot Types
widelandscapelong-exposure
Best Seasons
springsummerfall
Practical Tips
The overlook is less than a 5-minute walk from the parking area. Morning light avoids harsh shadows in the gorge. The falls are most powerful in late spring and early summer.

Is it a good day to go?

7-day outlook

Mild, dry days with light winds are the most comfortable for a visit.

Forecast by Open-Meteo. Verdicts weigh the forecast against the conditions that suit this spot.

Author's Comments

The drive to the overlook is almost suspiciously easy. You pull off the Silver Thread, you walk maybe three minutes on pavement, and then the ground simply opens and a hundred feet of water is falling into a gorge cut from rhyolite. There is something almost theatrical about the reveal. No effort earned, just suddenly there. The photograph wants morning light. By afternoon the gorge fills with hard shadow and the falls themselves go contrasty in a way that no exposure quite resolves. But in the first two hours after sunrise, the light comes in sideways and even, the spruce around the rim hold their color, and the water reads as water rather than as a blown white shape against dark stone. Late May into June is when the volume is real. By August it has thinned to something more delicate, which is its own kind of photograph if you bring a longer lens and a neutral density filter and treat the falls as texture rather than spectacle. I have stopped here three or four times now, always on the way to somewhere else, and each time I have stayed longer than I meant to. The crowds never really arrive. You can have the overlook to yourself at seven in the morning, and the only sound is the falls themselves, which from a hundred feet above sound less like thunder and more like wind moving through something vast. Bring a wide lens for the full gorge. Bring patience for the long exposure. The falls are not going anywhere, and neither, on a good morning, are you.

Gallery

North Clear Creek Falls drops in a white ribbon over a sheer tan rhyolite cliff into a deep rocky gorge, with the water catching bright morning light. Open grassland and low dark hills stretch across the background under a clear blue sky. Photo: Jeffrey Beall / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0
A tall waterfall spills over a sheer rhyolite cliff into a narrow rocky gorge, with misty white water contrasting against the dark chute below. Sunlit cliffs and sparse spruce and shrubs frame the falls, while open high-country hills stretch into the hazy distance. Photo: Falk Werner / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
North Clear Creek Falls pours in a white, silky ribbon over a sheer gray rhyolite cliff into a narrow rocky gorge, with dark spruce forest and open high-country plains stretching across the background. The long exposure and cool morning light give the scene a soft, misty look against the rugged canyon walls. Photo: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
Looking straight down into a rocky gorge, white water rushes past dark boulders below tan rhyolite cliffs, with bright green moss and scrub clinging to the steep sides. Sunlit rocks and the narrow overlook ledge frame the falls on a clear morning. Photo: NeviePuppy / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
North Clear Creek Falls drops in a white, silky ribbon over a tall rhyolite cliff into a rocky gorge, with dark boulders and a narrow stream below. Dense spruce and autumn-tinged brush spread across the ridge above, while the wide view emphasizes the rugged canyon walls. Photo: John Fowler from Placitas, NM, USA / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
North Clear Creek Falls pours in a bright white curtain through a narrow rocky gorge, framed by sheer tan cliffs and patches of green shrubs. The creek winds quietly above the brink, and a spruce tree in the foreground partially obscures the lower drop. Photo: National Forest Service / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
A spruce tree heavy with brown cones stands in bright morning sun against pale, vertical rhyolite cliff walls, with a patch of green grass at the base. Strong light and shadow emphasize the rock texture and the tree’s layered branches. Photo: Jane Nearing from Richardson, US / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
A black-and-white view of a rocky canyon wall and steep talus slope, with a few people standing along a rough trail carved into the cliffside. Layered stone ledges stretch across the gorge under a pale sky, giving the scene a stark, rugged feel. Photo: Grand Canyon National Park / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
A black-and-white wide view of the Grand Canyon shows layered cliffs and a steep, scrub-covered slope in the foreground, with a few tiny figures scattered along the trail. Bright haze softens the distant rock walls and makes the central butte stand out against the pale sky. Photo: Grand Canyon National Park / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
North Clear Creek Falls plunges in a thick white sheet over tall, tan rhyolite cliffs into a rocky gorge, with mossy green banks below. Rolling high-country meadows and distant hills stretch beyond the falls under a bright morning sky with scattered clouds. Photo: Lesli Whitecotton / Pexels

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