My Father and I woke up early Saturday to catch the sunrise at Garden of the Gods Park (Colorado Springs). The predawn weather was looking rather interesting over the park but as the sun began to rise the majority of fog and clouds disappeared. Nevertheless, the sunrise was beautiful! After spending the sunrise in the park we headed to Rainbow Falls.
Rainbow falls is a forgotten waterfall located in Manitou Springs. The waterfall was a popular attraction for the Ute Indians as well as early mining settlers in the mid to late 1800’s. A bridge connecting downtown Manitou Springs with Hwy 24 was built over the waterfall in the 1950’s. Today the waterfall is literally surrounded by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pieces of graffiti. Its a shame that something so beautiful could be forgotten and lost to the general public.
I first visited the +30′ high waterfall about 6 years ago and in that time it has gotten worse. Apparently there is a concerned group named MECA (Manitou Environmental Citizens Action) which aims to get the public thinking about this neglected gem. Here is a link to a story ran in 2007 talking about potential changes: Rainbow Falls Story