Switzerland of America: two big waterfalls within reach of downtown Ouray

The City of Ouray sums itself up in one phrase: the “Switzerland of America.” The town sits in a tight bowl of the San Juan Mountains, and water spills off those walls in plain view. Two of the biggest payoffs sit closer to downtown than you might expect.

Cascade Falls is the one you can see from town. To reach the base, you drive east up 8th Avenue until it dead-ends at a parking lot, then take what the city calls “a short, but moderately steep, quarter-mile walk to the waterfall.” There’s no charge, and a creekside spot to sit. The drop is often given as around 270 feet, the tallest in town, though the city’s own page lists the walk rather than the height. The short trail also meets the Perimeter Trail, the roughly five-mile loop around Ouray, if you want to keep going.

Bear Creek Falls is even easier to reach. Drive south on the Million Dollar Highway (US 550) a few miles, and the falls pour down right beside a roadside pullout with a viewing platform over the gorge.

Both are real mountain terrain. The footing is steep, and shoulder-season ice is common, so check current conditions with the City of Ouray before you go.