Hanging Lake Falls

Worth a detour

Is it plungeworthy?

25feet tall

A segmented on East Fork Dead Horse Creek.

Scale34/60

Documentation15/20

Character14/20

The details

Type: Segmented
Watercourse: East Fork Dead Horse Creek
Coordinates: 39.60154, -107.19179

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About Hanging Lake Falls

Hanging Lake Falls is a 25-foot segmented in Colorado, on East Fork Dead Horse Creek.

Fed largely by snowmelt, it runs hardest in late spring and early summer and can thin to a trickle by late season.

Plungeworthy rates Hanging Lake Falls 6.3/10 — worth a detour. The score weighs its scale, how confidently it's mapped, and its character.

What you'll find

The turquoise travertine lake with a waterfall pouring straight into it — Glenwood Canyon's crown jewel, hanging on a cliff shelf 1,200 feet above the highway. Spouting Rock, a cascade firing out of a cliff hole, waits a hundred yards beyond the boardwalk.

Back at full strength: after the 2020 fire and 2021 debris flows destroyed every bridge on the trail, a $4.7M rebuild — seven new bridges, 1,200 stone steps — reopened the trail June 18, 2026.

Getting there

Trailhead: Hanging Lake Rest Area, I-70 Exit 125, Glenwood Canyon
Parking: At the rest area, bundled with your permit reservation
Road: Paved interstate; summer cyclists can ride the canyon path in with a reservation
Hike: 2.8 mi round trip, 1,200 ft of climb (hard)
Heads up: Short but relentlessly steep and rocky — real shoes, 2–3 hours.

When to go

Summer for wildflowers, late September for gold aspen. Open year-round with traction gear in winter. Permits cap the trail at ~615 hikers a day and summer weekends sell out — book ahead.

Rules & fees

Fee / pass: Timed permit required: $12/person May–Oct, $10 Nov–Apr, via visitglenwood.com/hanginglake
Dogs: Not allowed, and not in parked cars either
Hours: Reservation slots 7am–5pm; short-notice closures during heavy-rain forecasts (burn-scar debris risk)
Camping: Small USFS canyon campgrounds nearby; nothing at the trailhead
Warnings: Touching the water is prohibited and enforced — the travertine that makes the lake unreal dies from skin oils. No cell service.

Researched from USFS — Hanging Lake · Hanging Lake permits. Conditions change — verify before you drive. Been to Hanging Lake Falls recently? Post a conditions report below.

Where it is

Before you go

The pin marks the feature, not a trailhead or a legal route in. Some sit on private land or need a real hike, and conditions change with season and rain. Check local access, don't trespass, and never enter water — hot or cold — where it isn't safe.