Hanging Lake–Avon, Colorado Vacation.

Hanging Lake is probably the most beautiful lake we have had the pleasure of visiting. the trail up to it, while relatively short, was absolutely intense! It’s like taking the stairs up to the top of a 85 floor tower, except you know, pretty. This was the crown jewel of our vacation and absolutely made the trip worth it.

Quick Details:

Length: 1.2 miles from the trailhead. Which is about a quarter mile from the parking lot.
Difficulty: You gain 1020 feet in 1.2 miles. It is strait up and there was a short section that was well, pretty scary DR6.
Elevation Gain: 1020 ft.
Restroom: There are flush toilets at the parking lot, and pit toilettes at the trailhead.
Dogs? No. Dogs are not allowed on this trail.
Extra Info: This is a tough rocky trail. Ensure you have plenty of water and good shoes.

To get here is a little complicated. It is east of Glenwood Springs on i70. If heading West like we were you will take exit 121, which has a turn around to get back onto i70 eastbound to exit 125 which is the Hanging Lake Rest Area. If heading east, just take exit 125, but know to keep going east when leaving you will have to do the same back-tracking to exit 121. If you happen to be staying west of it, well you are golden and wont need to backtrack.

Looking up canyon from the parking lot. Colorado river below.

From the little bit of research I did before we got here I knew it was a 1.2 mile trail. I was getting really excited that it appeared to be paved for at least the first section of it… and well, while that is true, the trailhead is after this. so it’s 1.2 miles, plus this paved quarter mile. oi.

I really enjoy Glenwood Canyon.

Trailhead sign. It warns that it is difficult. At the moment I kind of took that with a grain of salt. Come on, it’s popular and very busy no way. No seriously, this is a tough trail.

Dead Horse Creek. Named so because apparently the first documented explorer of this canyon found a dead horse near the mouth of it.

Right from the get go the trail goes strait up and is very rocky. Also, you can kind of see just how popular it is here. Lots of people.

I like that they drilled steps into this boulder. there are a couple spots where they have added stuff to make it easier to traverse. It’s stuff like this that made it feel like we were just climbing a long staircase.

Cliff walls above.

Bridge number 2. I like that they are numbered, it helped to gauge distance. There are 7 of them total.

More stairs.

Colorful cliff.

Little waterfall.

Into the shadow of the canyon.

There are some flat sections… but not a lot.

More cliffs.

I love all the little cascades and pools.

Rocky, rocky trail.

More cascades.

Small waterfall here above bridge 3.

Which is at the 1/2 mile mark. Oh man it feels like we’ve done more than that so far haha. That said, I wish more trails did this! This trail had a mile marker every quarter mile. When a trail is unfamiliar it is nice to know how much further to expect and this is a great way to do it! not sure if this is a Colorado thing, this area, or just this trail, but either way I did appreciate it. I thought I got a picture of it, but I guess not. If I remember correctly, the 1/4 mile marker was at bridge 2.

More steps.

Bridge 4.

More cascades. I really love trails that follow the creek.

Into the woods.

Seriously start wondering how much is natural stepping stones, and how much was placed a lot of it is seriously almost perfect staircases.

Neat little waterfall.

Tree roots.

Bridge 5.

Nice cascades here as well.

From a different angle. There were a few sections where the water seemed to have an interesting color. I figured different minerals, but after seeing the lake that is confirmed.

Ferns.

Really??? Oh man, this trail is kicking our butts. It certainly feels like we have gone further than this.

From bridge 6.

I love the creek.

Ferns and creek.

Raptors and cliffs above.

Great little covered resting area. Looks really old, I kind of wonder if it was originally a small cabin.

Loads and loads of graffiti. On the way down, we got to witness a ranger busting someone carving. He was cool about it, just kind of put a good scare into him but let him go. Landis mentioned what does it matter at this point? the whole thing is covered. But I think hey, if someone is caught in the act, maybe they won’t do it again.

More of the colored water.

Moss covered cascades.

This part reminded me of Labyrinth, the part where she walks through The Bog Of Eternal Stench and the stones come up. I imagine it must get wet or muddy in this area.

Cool little alcove.

Mossy waterfall.

A slightly better one. After visiting the lake I think the lower waterfall came from a part of water coming from the far end of the lake, and this one is the water coming from the closer end of the lake.

Bridge 7. Almost there!

Cliff and forest. I would love to visit this trail in the spring some time.

1 mile! only .2 to go! Phew! Little did I know the last leg was a little bit well, scary. I am kind of hesitant to say that because had I known, I probably would have chickened out. However coming in blind and coming this far I pushed myself through it.

Moss and dead leaves.

More steps.

Further up canyon. The trail switchbacks against the cliff from here.

At least there is a railing.

Cliff side. With a random alcove next to a tree.

Starting to hit the really intense section.

Absolutely amazing view down though.

I am actually kind of surprised I took the last 2 pictures considering how scared I was. I had to crawl up this while holding onto the bottom hand rail. I have mentioned I am terrified of heights right? I honestly don’t think I could have done this without that hand rail. Luckily it is very short, and before I knew it I was on solid ground again.

Oh, I managed another view down. You know what, I am pretty darn proud of myself for not only doing that, but getting a few pictures along the way too. However, I think I just confirmed that I couldn’t do Angels Landing in Zion.

The first stream coming out of the lake.

There is a nice boardwalk around the lake. This was built more to protect the fragile environment than for convenience, but it was super convenient.

First glimpse of the lake… holy crap! This is absolutely stunning! I was expecting a pretty lake, I had no idea not just 1, but 2 waterfalls fell directly into it.

Taking a closer look at the map, they appear to be called Bridal Veil Falls. We have a waterfall in Utah with the same name, and I found one in Oregon with the same name.

I knew it was called hanging lake because it was next to a cliff. I thought it hung out over a cliff. It’s seriously right next to it though.

Panoramic.

Amazing colorful, yet clear water.

So clear you can easily see the fish.

The lake and the waterfalls. I cannot believe how pretty this is.

Waterfall and its reflection.

Old log in the lake.

Different angle.

With the cliffs above.

Another panoramic.

Stellars Jay.

Waterfall and reflection again.

Back to the lake.

I am really loving this lake.

Trying to get a sense of the lake against the cliff.

Back down to the closer end.

Faint waterfall-bow.

On the way in I noticed this side trail to Spouting Rock. Sounds interesting.

Hanging Lake from above.

Just a short 1000 yards or so and HOLY CRAP!!! A big waterfall coming out of a hole in the cliffs! This is absolutely amazing! I don’t know what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t this.

The waterfall is seriously coming out of a small cave in the side of this cliff. That is awesome!

You know I tried to figure out where the creek goes underground, and I couldn’t locate it.

People for scale.

We witnessed a special moment. I thought I’d be a good Samaritan and document this special moment for them, until I realized the other couple were definitely with them and doing so for them. Still, if you know these people and think they might want this image I would be happy to give a copy without the watermark.

Looking down canyon.

Faint rainbow from the mist.

The cave behind the waterfall smelled very strongly like clay, and was dripping in a few places.

Not the first waterfall that I have been able to walk behind, but definitely the first one I have seen coming out of a cave.

Another look at the small alcoves in the back of the cave.

Managed a couple shots without people.

I am really glad we explored this extra side adventure. I have never seen anything like this. However, it was starting to get late and we really needed to get on down the road. So, it was time to leave.

A lovely view down canyon. Didn’t get any pictures of the scary route down. It was a little tougher going down, mostly because there was a traffic jam, but I made it. I gave a quick pep talk to someone I could tell was not wanting to continue up. I kind of wish I had taken more time and given her more advise. I do hope she got to courage to make it. But if she didn’t, that is okay too. Fear of heights is seriously bad. Trust me, I am the first person who knows this, so I truly understand if she turned around. I almost did.

The scary section from below. It doesn't seem as high from here, but it is certainly high enough to seriously injure or kill if you fell from there.

The upper falls. More in the shade.

Random bird digging through the leaves.

The waterfall again.

The lower waterfall again.

Why would anybody want to? The trail is steep enough!

The creek again.

Cascades.

Cliffs.

Moss and rocks.

Trees and cliffs.

Rocky steps down.

Last stragglers.

A little bit of color.

Bridge 1. Almost done.

Now that we are almost out of Dead Horse Canyon we can see down Glenwood Canyon.

Where Dead horse Creek meets the Colorado River.

Back down to the trail head, and a look down Glenwood Canyon.

The sun behind one of the peaks above.

Pretty trees in the packed parking lot.

That was one of the toughest, but most incredible hikes we have ever done. However, there was not just 1, but 2 phenomenal natural wonders to see at the end, not to mention a couple other great things, and amazing views! It was absolutely worth doing and I am thrilled that we did it. And I am still super proud of myself for making it past the scary part. 10 out of 10 squirrels all the way. Even with the crowds!

As for difficulty, as I mentioned it is steep and rocky and there is a lot of elevation gain in such a short trail system. Plus the short section with 50 foot drops. Going with a DR6.

Dogs are not allowed in this fragile ecosystem. Please respect that.