In between Eagle Colorado and Glenwood Springs Colorado is a popular day hike off from the Colorado river. The Hanging Lake hike is so popular that in the summer it can be difficult to find or ever get a parking spot, and if the lot is full you will be turned around at the entrance.
ISO 50, 22mm, f/22, 1/10 sec
The hike isn’t very long, but it is steep in spots.
The moss and the water are an amazing combination of greens, blues and aquas. I was actually quite surprised by the water coloring when I arrived at the “lake”. I put lake in quotations because the lake is only about an acre in size.
These three ladies walked out on a floating log to get their picture taken. I was sure they were going to take a swim. The water there is much deeper than it appears.
Above Hanging Lake is a waterfall that comes right out of the rock face called Spouting Rock.
The flow from the water fall is an incredible green. My photographs don’t do it justice!
This is the view from the lake down the canyon towards the Colorado River.
As I was walking along the Colorado River back to my car I was lucky enough to have an Amtrak train pass me along the river.
The rock wall structures of the canyon are also amazing and fun to photograph. I hope to make a trip along the river and spend a day photographing the unusual rock formations.
In the next canyon over is the Grizzly Creek hike. I went on this hike the following Saturday and will have the photographs posted from this hike in the near future.
Here is the gallery of photographs, I hope you have enjoyed sharing this day hike experience with me.
Beautiful photos! These scenes bring back so many memories for me. When I was a little kid, we lived in that area. I remember hiking to that lake once with my dad. So many beautiful things to see around there! You must go up to Redstone and Marble! Thanks for sharing!
Loree, I had to Google Redstone and Marble. I knew sort of where they were, but not exactly. From looking at the information on the web, I definitely need to do the West Elk Loop road this summer. It is 210 miles of road that loops around that area. It looks like a photography paradise! Thanks for the tip 🙂
No problem. I’m not familiar with that road (at least not by that name), but if you go just past Marble, you will find the Crystal Mill, which is the iconic old mill you see on all the Colorado post cards and calendars. I don’t even know if they allow you to drive there any more. Last time I was up there, there were only ATV’s going by. Anyway, it’s probably best because from what I remember, it was a pretty scary road, even in a Jeep!
Oh I think I’ve seen photographs of that mill in a restaurant her in Eagle. I will definitely visit the area in the coming months!
Nice shots. Hanging Lake is a classic hike. Our boys really enjoyed that one.
Dave it really is a great hike. I road past there yesterday on my bike and the parking lot was completely full! It is definitely popular in the summer months.