Seven Falls facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Seven Falls |
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 Location in Colorado
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| Coordinates | 38°46′44″N 104°52′48″W / 38.77889°N 104.88000°W |
| Total height | 181 feet (55 m) |
| Number of drops | 224 |
The Broadmoor Seven Falls is a beautiful series of seven waterfalls. They are part of South Cheyenne Creek in a place called South Cheyenne Cañon, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. These falls have been a popular tourist spot that people own privately since the early 1880s.
In September 2013, a big flood caused a lot of damage to the area. Because of this, Seven Falls had to close down. It reopened in 2015 after a lot of work to fix everything.
You can't park your car right at Seven Falls. Instead, there's a free shuttle bus service that takes you there from the Norris Penrose Event Center. From the top of the falls, you can explore hiking trails. These trails lead to places like Midnight Falls, which is close to where South Cheyenne Creek starts, and Inspiration Point.
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Where Are the Seven Falls?
Seven Falls is located in Colorado Springs along the Front Range mountains. It sits inside a natural "box canyon" in South Cheyenne Cañon. A box canyon is a canyon that is closed off at one end.
The entrance to the canyon is about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) southwest of downtown Colorado Springs. The road leading to Seven Falls through South Cheyenne Cañon is often called "The Grandest Mile of Scenery" in Colorado.
The falls are surrounded by a 1,000-foot (300 m) tall granite canyon. You can find different types of trees in the Seven Falls park. These include Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, Juniper, and Blue Spruce.
Exploring the Falls
The Waterfalls Up Close
The seven waterfalls together drop a total of 181 feet (55 m). To get to the very top, you can climb 224 steps on a staircase. If you prefer, there's also an elevator that can take you up to the Eagle's Nest observation platform. From here, you get amazing views of the falls. This elevator is also friendly for wheelchairs.
The falls are named in alphabetical order, not from top to bottom. Their names are Bridal Veil, Feather, Hill, Hull, Ramona, Shorty, and Weimer. A writer named Susan Joy Paul described them as "seven leaps of plunge, cascade, punchbowl, fan, and horsetail spray." This means they look different as the water flows down.
Seven Falls is special because it's the only waterfall in Colorado that is on the National Geographic list of international waterfalls. You might see some local wildlife here too. Look for hummingbirds, the Water Ouzel (also called American Dipper), which is a songbird that can swim, and different kinds of Brook and Rainbow Trout.
Hiking Trails and Views
There are two hiking trails that start at the top of Seven Falls. These trails are usually open from May through October until 7 p.m.
One trail is the Inspiration Point trail. It's about 1-mile-long (1.6 km) and winds its way up to Inspiration Point. This hike usually takes about one hour to go there and back. From Inspiration Point, you can see great views of Colorado Springs and the flat plains beyond. This spot was a favorite of a poet named Helen Hunt Jackson, and it even inspired some of her poems. She was first buried here.
The other trail is shorter, taking about half an hour to hike to Midnight Falls. This spot is close to where South Cheyenne Creek begins. The trails start at an elevation of about 6,800 feet (2,100 m) and go up to about 7,200 feet (2,200 m). Remember, you can't park cars at the falls, but there is a place to park bicycles at the entrance.
Cool Rock Formations
Just inside the entrance to the Seven Falls area, you'll see something called the Pillars of Hercules. These are two huge, natural rock formations that look like giant pillars. They stand about 900 feet (270 m) tall from the canyon floor. They are part of the natural granite walls of the canyon.
Right across from the Pillars of Hercules, you might spot the George Washington profile. This is a natural rock formation that, with a little imagination, looks like the side profile of George Washington's face. At this point, the canyon walls are very close together, only about 41 feet (12 m) apart.
History of Seven Falls
The Early Days (Late 1800s)
In December 1872, a man named Nathaniel Colby claimed 160 acres (0.25 sq mi; 0.65 km2) of land in South Cheyenne Canyon, which included Seven Falls. He sold the land nine months later to the Colorado Springs Land Company.
In 1882, a nature lover named James Hull bought the property. He was worried that logging (cutting down trees) would ruin the beautiful area. By 1885, he owned 400 acres (0.63 sq mi; 1.6 km2) in the canyon. Hull was the one who built the first staircase to the top of the falls and a road through the canyon. Visitors would come by horses, donkeys, and carriages, and they paid a small fee to enter Seven Falls.
Changes in the 1900s
After James Hull passed away in 1890, his sons took over the property. In 1905, Callidore Dwight Weimer bought the property, which had grown to 1,400 acres (2.2 sq mi; 5.7 km2). Weimer was a successful mine owner. His son, Melvin Weimer, and his wife Frances helped manage the Seven Falls business.
Later, in 1946, a college student and oilman from Texas named Al Hill bought the falls. To let people visit even at night, Hill added lights in the canyon in 1947. The Hill family also built the Eagle's Nest Observation platform and dug 170 feet (52 m) into the side of the mountain to put in an elevator. This elevator was updated in 1992. For Christmas in 1947, the canyon was opened for free at night, and people could donate to charity. This became a yearly tradition.
In 1965, a big flood badly damaged the Seven Falls park.
In 2002, a special lighting system was put in place. This system lights up the waterfalls with different colors. Seven Falls is still known as the only fully lit canyon in the world.
The Broadmoor Takes Over
In September 2013, five days of very heavy rains caused a lot of damage, similar to the flood in 1965. The area around Seven Falls got up to 12 inches (300 mm) of water. So much water flowed over the falls that it looked like there were only five falls instead of seven! The park had fallen trees, standing water, mud, and a damaged road. It had to close, and the roads leading to it were blocked.
In April 2014, it was announced that The Broadmoor hotel had bought Seven Falls. They planned to reopen the park in 2015. The A.G. Hill family had owned the property for 68 years.
The Broadmoor officially reopened Seven Falls on August 13, 2015. Now, visitors park at the hotel and take a shuttle bus to the canyon. This helps with traffic and parking problems that used to happen. The Broadmoor also opened a restaurant called Restaurant 1858 right at the bottom of the falls.
See also
In Spanish: Siete Cataratas para niños
