Continental Falls - Near Breckenridge

Rating: 8 (1 being Low, 10 being High)

Where we found this hike:  Summit County Explorer Website - Mohawk Lake Trail

We followed the directions for Mohawk Lake. The falls spills from the lower Mohawk Lake. This was a great Colorado Hike that has a little bit of everything - ruins, mines, views, a lake and then you end up at a waterfall. You couldn't ask for more and the best part is there is more. This was a family hike and 7 miles would be a bit much for a 5 year old. Therefore, we chose not to head up to Mohawk lower and upper lakes (hopefully another trip). This was absolutely a great hike. 

This is a well used trail. We did see quite a few people on the trail, but that was to be expected considering it was the Friday before the 4th of July and this trail is just a couple of miles from Breckenridge.

While I have personally never done it,  a couple of my buddies have done snow shoeing on this trail in the middle of winter and had nothing but good things to say. 

Is this hike for kids?
My rating for hiking this for kids is 8 (1 being Low, 10 being High).

There are many teaching opportunities on these trails with the ruins and many things to see to keep everyone entertained.

There were two challenging spots on this trail for our 5 year old.
1) The first was seasonal and with the amount of snow fall in the area this year (and now run off). One of the "bridges" crossings was challenging because the water was very high and going over it. That being said,  it made me more nervous then my daughter.

2) To get up to the "rebuilt" Cabin and then the falls there was one spot we had to lift my daughter up (and then down on the way back) on the rocks to get her up above them.  This was nothing overly dangerous about this and an older kid of 8 or 9 would have no problem climbing this obstacle.

We enjoyed our picnic up by the old cabin then explored around the waterfall. It was an absolutely wonderful day.

A correction that needs to be made from the direction provided by Summit County Explorer. It says "At about 2.4 miles from the last light as you leave Breckenridge", well a "new" stoplight has been added which makes it about 2.2 miles from the last stop light.

If interested in more pictures from the hike click here.