We Got Hailed on at Helen Hunt Falls in Colorado Springs

After spending the morning at Seven Falls with our dogs, we weren’t quite ready to head back to our Airbnb. We wouldn’t continue on to Grand Teton National Park until the following morning, so we still had the rest of the afternoon to explore Colorado Springs.

On the shuttle drive back to our car, Minerva found Helen Hunt Falls while looking for other things to do around Colorado Springs. With it being less than a 20 minute drive from Seven Falls, and also dog-friendly, we decided to check it out.

During our two days in Colorado Springs, we progressively made our way further and further into the mountains. Garden of the Gods gave us beautiful views of the red rock formations the day before, and Seven Falls had us climbing 224 steps alongside a series of seven cascading waterfalls. Driving farther into the canyon toward Helen Hunt Falls let us explore more of the Colorado Springs landscape and mountains.

One thing we didn’t anticipate was how quickly the weather would change while we were up there.

Who is the falls named after? Nope, not the actress Helen Hunt! The falls were actually named after Helen Hunt Jackson, a poet, writer and activist who lived in Colorado Springs in the late 1800s.

Arriving at Helen Hunt Falls

We took North Cheyenne Canyon Road west towards Helen Hunt Falls and arrived around 2pm in early August. Just like earlier while visiting Seven Falls, the weather was beautiful. The sun was more directly overhead by this point in the afternoon, and the sky was a brilliant blue with clouds hanging over the mountains.

Unlike the 0.8-mile walk up to Seven Falls, Helen Hunt Falls is next to the visitor center at the end of the parking lot. I thought we’d have to walk at least a little way to reach it, but nope, it’s right there. We walked over with Toby and Lily and checked out the Helen Hunt Falls Visitor Center, which also allowed our dogs inside.

Under the visitor center’s overhang are a couple stone seats facing the falls and several hummingbird feeders. We sat on the seats while listening to the falls and watching the birds coming and going. They seemed very comfortable with the people nearby and didn’t mind us getting fairly close with our phones for pictures.

It was at this point that it started to sprinkle, the raindrops started getting larger, and it started to hail.

When the Rain Turned to Hail

Weather further up in the mountains can be very unpredictable. The light rain initially seemed like it would be nothing more than a brief shower. But, within seconds, the small raindrops became larger drops and then turned into small hail.

Since we were under the overhang, we didn’t mind the rain or hail. That is, until someone we were sitting next to said, “I hope my rental car doesn’t get damaged!” I had completely forgotten about our Subaru Forester in the parking lot!

Our Forester has a moonroof, and I started worrying that the hail could get large enough to damage the roof or shatter the moonroof. I ran back to the car, grabbed one of our blankets from the back and covered the roof with it. It wasn’t the most sophisticated hail protection (or even cover the entire car), but it seemed better than doing nothing.

And just as quickly as the rain and hail arrived, it stopped. Thankfully, the hail was only about pea-sized and didn’t damage our car. Since we were already there and the weather looked like it had cleared up, we decided to walk a little farther up the trail with Toby and Lily toward Silver Cascade Falls.

Hiking Toward Silver Cascade Falls

The trail picks up towards the right of Helen Hunt Falls, which takes you up a set of stairs and across a bridge suspended over Helen Hunt Falls. The dogs were happy to be outside and back on a trail. They sniffed around, explored and didn’t mind the damp ground. When we hike, Toby loves to find streams to cool off in. But there wasn’t really any way for him to get directly into the flowing water.

After hiking about half a mile, I started feeling nervous about the weather again, even with a blue sky above us. As we continued up the trail, I kept hearing thunder in the distance and watched as storm clouds rolled through the mountains.

I started thinking about what would happen if another hailstorm came through while we were farther up the trail and didn’t think it was worth taking the chance of getting caught out there with the dogs (or having our vehicle get hail damage).

Probably a bit of anxiety on my end, but Minerva very much disagreed, thinking we should continue toward Silver Cascade Falls since we were already out there. We ended up turning around and walking back to the car without making it to Silver Cascade.

Just as we were leaving the parking lot, it started hailing again. This time was more intense than the first. Part way down the mountain, we stopped and parked under some tree branches to give us some cover. I’m not sure how we lucked out, but we didn’t get any hail damage this time, either.

Visiting Helen Hunt Falls With Dogs

With the exception of the hail, Helen Hunt Falls was a beautiful place to visit with Toby and Lily. The dogs needed to remain on their leashes, but otherwise we didn’t run into any restrictions with bringing them along, including when we went into the visitor center.

The trail had some elevation gain and a couple of stairs, which we carried Toby up and down, but it wasn’t any more challenging than other hikes they had experienced on our road trips.

The half mile of trail we walked didn’t have much shade, and there wasn’t any water along the trail for Toby to cool off in. Normally, that wouldn’t have been a major issue for us, but the afternoon sun and quickly changing mountain weather made me more cautious (and nervous) about how far we should go.

The dogs weren’t concerned with any of this, though, and were more than happy sniffing around. They just saw it was just another trail to explore.

Helen Hunt Falls vs. Seven Falls

Because we visited Helen Hunt Falls immediately after Seven Falls, it’s hard not to compare the two. They’re both waterfalls in the Colorado Springs area and both are dog-friendly, but they’re very different experiences.

Seven Falls feels like more of a tourist attraction. There is an entrance fee, a shuttle from the parking area, a 0.8-mile hike to the falls, a restaurant, shops, an elevator, stairs and activities like ziplining. If you want to experience everything at Seven Falls, you can easily spend a couple of hours there and the experience is built around doing more than just seeing the waterfall.

Helen Hunt Falls, by comparison, is free to visit, sits right next to the parking area and visitor center and has a hiking trail that starts at the falls and continues farther into the mountains. You can purchase things from the visitor center, but the overall experience feels much more focused on the surrounding nature.

The waterfall itself is also considerably smaller than Seven Falls. I don’t think that necessarily makes one better than the other, though. If seeing the waterfall is the main reason you’re visiting, I’d choose Seven Falls for the larger and more involved experience.

If you’re looking for a free, quick stop where you can see a waterfall and optionally hike farther into the mountains, Helen Hunt Falls could be a better fit.

Is Helen Hunt Falls Worth Visiting?

I’d say yes, especially if you’re already visiting Seven Falls or looking for another dog-friendly place to visit in Colorado Springs. Helen Hunt Falls is free to visit, the waterfall is right next to the parking area and you can continue hiking toward Silver Cascade Falls if you want a longer hike.

For us, it made sense to add a second dog-friendly waterfall stop after visiting Seven Falls. I just didn’t expect the hummingbirds and hail to be the parts of the visit I’d remember most.