What is Paradise Cove?
Guffey Gorge, more commonly called Paradise Cove by locals, is a swimming hole in Park County. This was once a secluded cliff jumping spot, but has now become very well known around Colorado and you can sometime find hundreds of people here in the summer.
Since its popularity boomed, many rules including a parking permits and no alcohol has been enforced. Once you arrive at the parking lot you are faced with a relatively short and easy hike, though it does have a steep section as you start making your way from the top of the cliff to the bottom.
How to get tp Paradise Cove?
Driving
From Colorado Springs: Get on Route 24 west towards Florissant. When you get to Florissant they take a left on Teller County Road 1, heading south for about 9 miles. Then it’s right onto County Road 11. After 4 miles take a right onto County Road 112. 3 miles down the road you will find the gravel parking lot.
Keep an eye out for a Zebras along the way. These are owned by one of the local families and can be seen just off the road in their horse corral.
There is now a $6 daily parking fee. Don’t forget to throw that ticket on your dashboard & don’t park on the road or you might end up getting towed. Credit card payments are available through the recreation.gov app. You will want to download this before hand as there is no cell service here.
If you have time, stop by the Iron Tree Restaurant & Brewer for some top notch local foods and craft beer.
Hiking In
From the parking lot, the hike to the water is around 1/2 mile should take between 15 to 20 minutes one way. With the steep section, this would be a hard and slow hike if you brought a large cooler with no wheels.
Start by heading north to the trail, it will be easy to find and there will be signs and maps guiding you from there.
Continue along until you pass through a cattle fence. Always close that gate behind you to help keep and potential cattle from wandering out.
This part of the hike is relatively easy and through a gorgeous open field with a creek and large boulders. Continue to follow the trail and you will slowly climb in elevation.
At the top of this hill, chances are you will be hearing all the people. This is a good spot to walk out on the open rock to the left of the trail and take a peek down, a long way down so be very careful.
If you follow that trail just a little farther you will see the cove below. From here it’s a very steep descent, but easy if you go slow.
Cliff Jumping
Paradise Cove offers plenty of different areas to explore and jump from. The lower jumping spots are only 15-20ft above the water. However, going to the other side of the canyon, you can jump from nearly 100ft. It’s important to be very careful as people have died and many have needed help.
Take a look at this wild video of the 100ft jump, the highest spot.
Its easy to find your way to the lower jumping points as that’s where most of the people will be going. It will require you to hike up the side of a rocky hill before each jump. Some sort of sandal or flip flop would help.
Added Rules
- No alcohol
- $6 parking fee – Credit card payments are available through the recreation.gov app
- Pets on leash
- No camping/fire
- No amplified music
- No grills
- No glass
Looking for another one of Colorado’s must see swimming hole? Take a look at the Big Dominguez Canyon Swimming Hole that even have some pre-Columbian Petroglyphs you can find.
If you were looking for a camping adventure, take a look at the options Colorado offers with: Where Can I Camp in Colorado? A Quick Run-Down