NPS Photo by Stella Carroll
View of Lower Frijoles Canyon from just below Lower Falls
The story of the Falls Trail is the story of water. Water that tumbles and flows from snow melt and springs in the Jemez Mountains to the slowly moving Rio Grande (big river) some 4,600 feet below. Two dramatic waterfalls mark geologic transitions along the 700 foot descent from the Visitor Center. The Falls Trail follows El Rito de Los Frijoles (Frijoles Creek or Little River of Beans) 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the end of the Backpacker’s Parking Lot to the Upper Falls and then continues another mile (1.4 km) past a second waterfall and finally to the Rio Grande.
