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Judd Falls

Crested Butte / Gothic, Colorado, USA

About Judd Falls

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Judd Falls was perhaps the most accessible waterfall in the Crested Butte area, and so it didn’t surprise us that it also got a lot of visitation.

Considering how tiring high altitude hiking can be, I found this trail’s modest distance and fairly gentle elevation change to be a good introduction to the hiking in this part of the Rocky Mountains.

Judd_Falls_020_iPhone_10162020 - Looking down at Judd Falls from the main lookout
Looking down at Judd Falls from the main lookout

As you can see in the photo above, Judd Falls was basically a two-tiered twisting waterfall nestled within a canyon that was quite shadowy by the time we showed up on our mid-October visit in 2020.

So even though the larger lower half of Judd Falls was bathed in afternoon light, its upper tier was darkened out by the shadows.

I’d imagine that mid-day to early afternoon would be the best times to see this waterfall without as many shadows impacting the viewing and photographing experience.

We managed to do a hike from the lower trailhead parking area (see directions below) and make it to the lookout area after about 1.2 miles (or 2.4 miles round-trip) according to my GPS logs.

Judd_Falls_012_10162020 - Julie on the initial uphill between the lower and upper parking areas for the Judd Falls Trail
Julie on the initial uphill between the lower and upper parking areas for the Judd Falls Trail

The most strenuous part of the hike was pretty much in the first half-mile or so when we climbed roughly 200ft or so in elevation to reach the upper trailhead parking area for Judd Falls.

We noticed that some people have managed to drive to this upper trailhead parking area (including a sedan, which I’m sure he must have suffered some scrapes to the undercarriage of the car given how rocky the trail/road was).

People who have managed to drive up to here would shave off about a mile of the overall distance round-trip.

A gate and some trail signage marked the official start to the Judd Falls Trail, which traversed through private property that I’d imagine belonged to the nearby hamlet of Gothic down below.

Judd_Falls_077_10162020 - Julie walking past one of the few trees still holding onto their aspen leaves while hiking the Judd Trail. As you can see in the background, pretty much all of the aspen trees had lost their leaves by mid-October 2020
Julie walking past one of the few trees still holding onto their aspen leaves while hiking the Judd Trail. As you can see in the background, pretty much all of the aspen trees had lost their leaves by mid-October 2020

Speaking of Gothic, there were other roads and trails that would have made for a much shorter walk to reach Judd Falls, but they’re unsanctioned given the off-limits nature of the trails coming up directly from the “ghost town”.

After the trail leveled out not long after surpassing the gate marking the official start of the Judd Falls Trail, it passed through some open terrain flanked by some aspen trees (most bare and a few still clinging to leaves during our mid-October visit).

Then, the trail descended for about 100-120ft or so before reaching an unpaved road where we had the option of continuing further upstream along the Copper Creek Trail (eventually leading to Copper Lake) or briefly going downhill to the right towards Judd Falls.

Right near the gate with warning signs about how the land was private behind the gate leading back down to Gothic, this was where we went left to a lookout bench peering right down at the falls.

Judd_Falls_018_iPhone_10162020 - Context of the lookout bench and the limit viewing space peering down at the Judd Falls (mostly unseen from this spot since the falls was further below into the depths of the canyon)
Context of the lookout bench and the limit viewing space peering down at the Judd Falls (mostly unseen from this spot since the falls was further below into the depths of the canyon)

Overall, we spent a little under 2 hours in total, but we really took our time, especially since we were still getting acclimated to the elevation (at around 9,800ft).

Authorities

Judd Falls resides in the Gunnison National Forest just above Gothic and near the town of Crested Butte in Gunnison County, Colorado. It is administered by the USDA Forest Service, but the trail passes through private property (belonging to the Gothic). For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual members. See Membership Options.
Content is for members. See Membership Options.

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Tagged with: gothic, gunnison, colorado, crested butte, rocky mountains, waterfall



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.