The Bridal Falls of Hanging Lake - Glenwood Springs, CO
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member condor1
N 39° 36.072 W 107° 11.518
13S E 311801 N 4385791
Located about 7 miles east of Glenwood Springs, CO. The Trailhead to get to the Lake is located in the Hanging Lake Rest Area along Interstate 70.
Waymark Code: WMC2F2
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 07/17/2011
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member silverquill
Views: 7

Hanging Lake and the Bridal Vail Falls feeding it are located on the Glenwood Canyon north side up Dead Horse Gulch, about 7 miles east of Glenwood Springs, Colorado and is a very popular tourist destination. The lake is reached via a trailhead located near I-70 in the bottom of the gulch. The trail follows Dead Horse Gulch Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River and ascends some 1,000 feet.

The lake itself has a long history as you can see in the following:

Early tales of the discovery of the lake and falls tell of a man searching for gold in the canyon when the Colorado River was called the Grand River. The man found a dead horse at the opening of a gulch (the possible origin of Dead Horse Gulch). When he followed the gulch up through the steep hillside through the canyon he came around the backside of the lake. This is how he first saw the small bowl-like basin hanging onto the cliffs below."

To see the Bridal Vail Falls of Hanging Lake you first must park at the Hanging Lake Rest area to access the bike path for about 1/2 mile until you reach the trailhead. The trail up Dead Horse Gulch is classified by the National Forest Service as a Difficult rating.

The trail itself is 1.2 miles long and ascends 1020 feet until you reach the lake and viewing area surrounding the south end of the lake. You will cross 7 bridges as the trail crosses over Dead Horse Gulch Creek. The trail follows the creek which issues from Hanging Lake and is in itself lined with many, many small water falls.

Type: Curtain

Parking Coordinates: N 39° 35.364 W 107° 11.425

Watercourse: Dead Horse Gulch Creek

Waterfall Height: 25

Seasonality: Perennial

Seasons of Best Flow: From: 03/01/2011 To: 11/30/2011

Viewpoint: Bottom

Path Up and Down: Full

Walk Behind: Fully

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