UPDATE: please do not park or walk through the yards of the people who live at the base of the hike. Be respectful so we can all enjoy this beautiful place!
A couple years ago I came across the Seven Castles hike while researching about fun hikes in the Roaring Fork valley. None of the articles online would disclose where the trailhead is, since it goes through private property, so I made it a mission for my boyfriend to figure out how to get there. You can read about our adventure HERE.
Two years later, I set out on an adventure with 5 friends, all of us ladies, ready to conquer some waterfalls. And, boy, what an adventure it was!
We vaguely remembered where the trailhead was, and we had to bush walk for a bit until finding ourselves in the Castle creek bed. From there it was easy – follow the creek, muscle up some waterfalls, no big deal.
The trail doesn’t have an official beginning or the end, the creek forms several waterfalls, which have ropes to climb up, set up by local enthusiasts. It eventually leads into a huge amphitheater which is said to be a site of an old Indian graveyard. We never made it far enough to confirm it.
Since the last time I was here, the ropes were cut off at the bigger waterfalls, I would assume because of an accident that happened a couple months ago when a girl fell/slid down one of the waterfalls (read more about it HERE)
Interestingly, we did not encounter anyone on our hike (except for a few mountain goats!). It was a great time for some girl bonding and pushing limits together. I won’t lie, hiking into the amphitheater was as scary as last time. The rocks here are really lose and everything can slide at any point and climbing up on all four is not the most comfortable feeling. Especially when the rocks are so hot they were literally burning our hands.
Roughly 3 miles into the hike (not even sure if you can call this a “hike”, more like mountaineering, scrambling, freeclimbing… you know, it was more than just a “hike”) we decided to turn around. Mostly because there wasn’t really where to go from the point we were at.
A few waterfalls down, some yoga posing on the last one on our way out, we were all happy to come out of it with no injuries and some lasting memories.
Full gallery:
One Response
Alice
Hi there: Really nice photos! I am very proud of you girls for taking such amazing photos, including the yoga poses with that backdrop and that no one got hurt. Looks like this was a second trip. I hike it often and see that you got up pretty high and into the Amphitheater. NO easy task:):).