Hanging Lake

Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye
Date 2012-04-18
Distance 8.1 km5 mi
Duration 2h:26m
Photos 68
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The trail to Hanging Lake begins at the Hanging Lake Rest Area, which is located in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado along I-70.There's a small cave near the parking lot.And there are several interpretive signs explaining the history of Glenwood Canyon and the constuction of I-70 through the area."With blue-green water, a picture-perfect waterfall and lots of wildlife, Hanging Lake is a beautiful place to explore. And it's just a one-and-a-half-mile hike from here. The trail is a bit steep, but it's well worth the trip. Experience this oasis for yourself, and keep your eyes peeled for wild critters along the way."To get to the Hanging Lake trailhead, you'll have to take the Canyon Trail, which is a paved path that parallels the Colorad River.The Hanging Lake trailhead is well marked. You can't miss it.From here on out, the hiking is on uneven terrain.The trail has several improvements including seven foot bridgesand several benches for resting.After a short while, you'll pass the junction with Dead Horse trail.The forest service has placed mile markers every 1/4 mile.As you get higher up the canyon, you'll see more and more waterfalls.The cliffs on either side of the trail are several hundred feet tall.A survey marker.More waterfalls.The trail is steep; it climbs 1000 ft in 1.2 miles, so there are a lot of switchbacks in places.We took Savannah out of the backpack for a while. The idea was to wear her out as much as possible so she'd be happy to sit in the car for several more hours.This waterfall along the trail was really pretty. One of the nice things about this trail is that it gets prettier as you go.3/4 mile.Yet another waterfall.Pretty wildflowers.We found this cool shack. We can't imagine that anyone lived in it, so we're not sure what it used to be.Cool rock overhang.The trail passes by the base of these two waterfalls. Bridal Veil Falls and Hanging Lake are a couple hundred feet above these waterfalls.The last bridge.It's hard to see in this picture, but there is an animal climbing on the rocks. It looked like a beaver but with a bushy tail.The last hundred feet of the trail has handrails and is basically carved into the cliff.Looking back down the canyon.We saw this sign for Spouting Rock, but we didn't realize that it was a trail leading behind Bridal Veil Falls to some more waterfalls. Maybe next time.Hanging Lake has a nice boardwalk with benches.The water is extremely green.If you look closely, you can see several rainbow trout swimming in Hanging Lake.The hike back down was quick and easy. Amazing how gravity works.

This trip report is from: 
http://dyeclan.com/outdooractivities/hiking/hanginglake/
Other trips at: http://dyeclan.com/outdooractivities/

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