Chama Falls, Colorado

by Doug Scott
(Taos, NM)

The Chama River has its source in the high country of extreme southern Colorado. This basin holds the highest waterfalls in all of Colorado and its rugged grandeur surpasses all other areas of the state. The Chama watershed displays the "Rocky Mountains" majesty as fine as Rocky Mountain National Park. The canyon that the Chama River carves in Colorado is three quarters of a mile deep, almost as deep as the Grand Canyon...and all of this is hard to the New Mexico border.

Chama Falls is 600 feet high, but access is difficult. Trails, which are few, often end at an unfordable stream crossing. Just north of Chama, NM, two obscure trailheads can be found via gravel roads heading west off State Hwy. 17. These trails and their destinations are unmarked and void of signage. It is easy to see why the upper Chama Basin is among the least visited places in Colorado.

If you'll be in New Mexico and would like to see some of their waterfalls, try this New Mexico waterfalls website. It has a long list of waterfalls you can visit.