Hiking The Broadmoor Seven Falls — the Grandest One Mile in Colorado

A lifelong Midwesterner hikes to the top of The Broadmoor Seven Falls and finds beauty, power, and inner strength.

Thinking about climbing The Broadmoor Seven Falls in Colorado Springs? Here’s everything you need to know.

How does a flatlander climb 224 steps at an elevation of 6,800 feet?

One at a time.

It was a chilly morning when we stepped off the shuttle at The Broadmoor Seven Falls — so chilly that the projected rain became snow. Tiny flakes fell all around us as we decided whether to take the $2 tram to the base of the falls from the ticket office. It was still warm enough the snow melted when it touched the asphalt.

We decided to walk. It was only eight-tenths of a mile, even if we were at a much higher elevation than our normal 869 feet above sea level.

We could handle it — as long as we remembered to take it slow.

A stream to our left accompanied us as we followed the winding road through soaring red rocks to the end of a box canyon. Occasionally gravel paths split off from the asphalt and paralleled the road for a bit. We took every one, getting close to the burbling water without stepping in.