I’ve admired Fish Creek Falls several times during summer stays in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  But, I’d never see them completely iced over….until now.

In summer the cold alpine water thunders over the 280-foot legendary falls that are just minutes from downtown Steamboat.  In winter, it’s a world of white, ice, and quiet.

It was cold the morning I went – 16 degrees.  It had recently snowed so there was a fresh blanket of white over the wilderness.  There were a couple of ice climbers coming back up the trail, but that was it as far as folks on the trail.

As I hiked down listening to the snow crunch beneath my feet, I got giddy as I turned the bend on the short quarter of a mile hike down to the bridge which offers a stellar view of the falls.  You can’t see the falls until you’re almost at the bridge.  As I stood on the bridge,  I laughed when I noticed the log across the rocks at the base of the falls, since I’ve climbed out on it in summer.

As you take in the picturesque setting, you hear the water trickle underneath the ice and snow, a far more muffled sound than when snowmelt is rushing down the falls in late spring and early summer.  It’s a very different scene as the water flows down the creek.

Here’s my Instastory I did while admiring the falls.

Of course it was cold, but the winter silence was also a slice of tranquility.  Back up the trail, there was a family of four getting ready to head down.  Sure hope they enjoyed the winter silence too.