If you’re headed to the Great Sand Dunes National Park, you’ll pass a sign on the right side of the approaching road that indicates a trailhead for Zapata Falls is near. A detour overlooked by many visitors, a rocky 3-mile uphill drive will take you to a short trail that leads to one of the coolest, most-accessible waterfall experiences in Colorado.

At a height of roughly 25 feet, Zapata Falls is found at the end of a creek bed inside a small slot canyon. With a water flow that drops into a small cove, the fduo of falls are quite picturesque.

The path that leads up to the waterfalls at the end of the trail is both wet and rocky. If you’re visiting, wear shoes with a good grip that can get wet. Keep in mind that sometimes the water flow is too strong for the average hiker to access a direct line of sight to the waterfall drop, though this year, that shouldn’t be a major issue. Wearing additional traction attachables can also be helpful, as can hiking poles.

The hike to the falls is short, roughly half a mile from the trailhead parking lot. Camping can be found nearby, making this great to tack on to the Sunday after a weekend trip before heading home.

While we recommend visiting the falls during the warmer months of the year, this is also a beautiful destination to visit during the winter. The falls do freeze and at this time, boot traction will definitely be needed. If you visit in May, like we did, you might still catch a little bit of the ice hanging around depending on the year – sometimes the waterfalls can remain frozen surprisingly late, too, given its location in a shadowed area.

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