Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls is prominently visible from all around the town of Telluride. To get an up-close view follow the main street (Colorado Ave) east out of town towards the Pandora Mill, becoming Road 648 when the pavement ends. Just under 2 miles from the center of town is the Pandora Mill, and immediately after is a sharp switchback in the road and a large parking area where the falls are prominently visible but still 3/4 of a mile distant. Vehicles without 4-wheel drive and high clearance will have to park here because the road gets considerably rougher. Either on foot or in a high clearance 4wd vehicle, continue another 1.5 miles to a switchback in the road right at the base of the falls.Bridal Veil Falls, found just outside of the resort town of Telluride, is one of Colorado's most well known and most significant waterfalls. Occurring along Bridal Veil Creek where it pours over a cliff formed by Wisconsin Glaciation that left the main valley carved several hundred feet deeper than that of Bridal Veil Creek. The result is one of the tallest free-falling waterfalls in the Rocky Mountains within the United States, and thus far the tallest confirmed free-falling waterfall in Colorado.
The falls are commonly cited as dropping either 365 feet or 431 feet, however topographic data suggests the drop to be a bit less than that - somewhere in the range of 280-320 feet, depending on where the bottom of the falls is spotted among the mass of huge boulders littering the bottom of the cliff around the base of the falls. The figure of 431 feet may stem from measurements of head in the hydroelectric system which the falls powers, however this would have to account for a significant run of creek either above or below the falls which should not be considered part of the waterfall itself. We were not able to accurately measure the falls on our initial survey in October 2017 due to time constraints.
Bridal Veil Creek drains from a basin which spans an area of approximately six square miles, the entirety of which is located above the 10,000 foot elevation. Because of the high elevation of the drainage, coupled with the heavy annual snow fall which this part of the state receives, Bridal Veil Falls will flow well for most of the year. From the mid-to-late spring months through mid summer, the falls will flow with potentially explosive vigor. At times a secondary stream of water spills out of the powerhouse to the left of the falls - though this does not seem to be predicated on heavy flow in the creek. By the late summer and early autumn months, the flow in the creek will drop significantly, however as there are numerous small lakes in the basin above, the creek will seldom be reduced to what would be considered a trickle. In the winter months the falls may freeze over entirely, forming a massive column of icicles which is renowned among climbers as one of the most hallowed ice climbing locations in the country (or at least it would be if the landowner permitted climbing).
Bridal Veil Falls is publicly accessible via the adjacent Forest Roads, however the falls and powerhouse are actually located on property owned by a private mining company, so please heed any signs which may suggest accessing areas around the falls is not permitted.The Smuggler-Union Hydroelectric Powerplant was constructed at the top of the falls and came online in 1907 to provide power for the nearby Smuggler-Union mine. The powerhouse is unique in that it's situated at the top of the elevation change used to produce the electricity rather than at the base. The power plant operated until 1953 when it was decommissioned from powering the mine, and was left in disrepair until the late 1980s when a local resident filed for a 99 year lease on the property, restored the building into a private residence and restored the original AC generator to full operation. The lease was returned to the mining company in 2010 due to issues with regulation, and today the mining company continues to operate the power plant, which provides approximately 25% of the electricity used by the city of Telluride.