PINE • At the end of a moss- and lichen- coated canyon, deep in a forest west of Denver, the trail splits.

Going right leads to an overlook. Going left and down grants a close, personal encounter with the scenic subject.

Take it from Staunton State Park’s website: “The 75 feet of falls is a stunning sight from above, but seeing this feature of the landscape up close is a must.”

And lucky for you, it’s never been more convenient to reach Elk Falls, what’s been called the tallest cascade closest to Denver.

It’s as good a time as any to visit the signature scene of Staunton. Put the refreshing, serenading waterfall on your list this spring or summer, as the state park celebrates its 10th year.

And consider starting from the Lazy V parking lot, which opened in the winter of 2022. Visitors are continuing to discover the many opportunities from the new launch point — including a shortened round trip to the grand site that Staunton celebrated as a poster child upon opening in 2013.

To reach the Elk Falls overlook, people have started from a trailhead situated farther east. Now they can shave about 4 miles off the trip from Lazy V, closer to the park’s core. And rather than admire from above, they can opt to travel down to the cool, misty base, thanks to rocky trails added in recent years.

It’s still no easy walk in the park. The shortened route covers close to 8 miles and 1,500 feet of elevation gain.

Importantly, it’s enough to promote turnover in the park, explained manager Zach Taylor. Rather than spending a full afternoon to reach Elk Falls and leaving their cars parked in limited spaces, now people are parking in additional spaces and driving away after maybe a few hours.

“We’re spread out a lot better,” Taylor said.

And perhaps most importantly, the journey is enough to feel like a wild escape from the concrete jungle on the other side of U.S. 285.

From Denver, “Staunton gives you a 45-minute (drive) to experience the deep heart of Colorado,” Taylor said.

And there may be no greater showcase than Elk Falls and the trails beyond Lazy V.

“Especially on the Front Range, where there aren’t a lot of opportunities to see a big waterfall,” Taylor said.

Chimney Rock Trail skirts the edge of a steep canyon, affording views of the towering promontory. It ends at the steep, chunky plunge that is Elk Falls Trail; a chain is bolted to a boulder, giving you something to grip as you negotiate the path. Other trails, Rusty Buckle and North Elk Creek, venture deeper into previously untrammeled parts of the bordering Pike National Forest.

“Those are your backcountry trails,” Taylor said. “That true experience of leaving civilization.”

Another benefit of Lazy V: much quicker access to Staunton Rocks and premier climbing routes. New lines have been established with the trailhead’s development — almost 400 total now across the park’s crags, Taylor said, nearly doubling the previous count.

Along with wildflower-spotted meadows and woods where elk roam, the soaring granite — among the ancient Pikes Peak batholiths — is but another hallmark of the park.

The commanding, visible likes of Lions Head had been sought in years well before Frances H. Staunton’s death in 1989. Her parents homesteaded and expanded the 1,720 acres she donated to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Her wishes were for the land to “be preserved, in perpetuity, for public benefit, as a natural wilderness-type park. … typifying Colorado’s most beautiful mountain forest and meadow region.”

The state agency took the next decade to grow the protected mosaic to 3,828 acres. More years were spent for studying, planning, fire mitigating and engineering.

Locals around Conifer waited — private types preferring these quiet hills to the hustle and bustle of the city. Private types like one who only gave her first name while fulfilling volunteer duties by Elk Pond one recent afternoon. Lin sat near the junction for Marmot Passage, where the namesake critters sang and scurried around, and hawks called high in the cliffs

Lin was there tallying people, for the park’s information. She has tallied more lately. (The total, unofficial tally last year was 250,327.)

“Which is OK,” Lin said. “There’s enough diversity.”

Enough trails and distance to spread out once you get started from the parking lot. Getting started has sometimes been the issue in the park’s 10 years, Taylor said.

“Especially during the COVID years,” he said. “We were hitting capacity every weekend.”

A couple frequenting the park from their home in Parker, Ward and Jeanne Hinz, have known weekends as “amateur hour,” as she called it.

But “since they opened that parking lot, it’s really nice,” he said.

Taylor sees Lazy V as the latest, greatest development in what he called a “mind-blowing” 10 years of seeing trails and plans on maps and pages become realities across the rugged ground. It’s that rugged character that he’d like to see celebrated in the years to come, he said. He hinted at backcountry camping true to Staunton’s founding vision as “a natural wilderness-type park.”

That feels true at Elk Falls.

“It really makes you feel small,” Taylor said. “It really makes you feel tucked back in there.”