hike to hanging lake

In September, I finally did the hike to Hanging Lake. This is a very popular hike, so popular, that there is talk of changing it to a permit system to control the number of people on the trail each day. We tried to do this hike a couple of times last year, but each time we arrived, the parking lot was full. We decided to give it a try again this past September, on a weekday, after school started, hoping that it would be less crowded.

It’s about a 2 hour drive to this hike. Just in case the parking lot was full, we decided to park at a nearby rest stop (about 4 1/2 miles away) and then ride bikes to the start of the hike. Even though there ended up being a few parking spots available when we arrived, it was a very good thing that we rode our bikes that day! Unbeknownst to us, while were were hiking, a tractor-trailer tipped over on nearby I-70, spilling its load of pigs, which resulted in the highway being closed. The poor pigs! Everyone who parked in that parking lot along with all of the people on the highway were stuck with no where to go until the highway opened again almost 6 hours later!

The hike is located right off of I-70 just outside of Glenwood Springs, Colorado in the Glenwood Canyon. It is a steep 1.4 mile hike each way with 1207 feet in elevation gain. It’s not a long hike but it is a tricky hike with lots of rocks along the way. The lake is located at the top of the hike. There also is a waterfall nearby the lake called Spouting Rock.

Great day! Amazing views! Magical lake! Definitely a hike to do if you ever get the chance!

Photos of my hike to Hanging Rock along with a few photos of the bike path along the Colorado River.