Hanging Lake is open, permits are required, and the single most common piece of outdated advice about it is that you take a shuttle. You do not. That system is gone.

The current rules

  • A permit is required. Book through Visit Glenwood.
  • $12 per person May 1 through October 31; $10 per person November 1 through April 30. Parking is included in the permit.
  • Timed hourly entry, 7am to 5pm. You must arrive within thirty minutes of your slot.
  • Three-hour hiking window.
  • You drive your own vehicle to the Hanging Lake Rest Area at I-70 exit 125. No shuttle. No Uber, no taxi, no rideshare, no drop-offs. The restriction exists for emergency evacuation reasons.
  • Vehicles over 25 feet are prohibited.
  • No dogs. Not on the trail and not at the rest area, and emotional support animals are explicitly not exempt because they are not service animals under the ADA. Animals also may not be left unattended in vehicles.
  • Cyclists can reach the trailhead via the Glenwood Canyon Recreation Path in summer and fall.

Some pages still carry language about a shuttle running "when conditions permit." Both Visit Glenwood and the Forest Service state private vehicle only. Treat the shuttle as discontinued.

The hike itself

1.2 miles each way, 1,200 feet of gain. The Forest Service calls it steep, rocky and moderately strenuous. Multiple switchbacks, seven bridges, and a boardwalk at the top. Budget about three hours round trip: two up, one down. The lake sits at 7,323 feet and is a National Natural Landmark.

That is a thousand feet of climbing per mile. It is short, and it is not easy.

The part people skip

Spouting Rock is a short spur above the lake, where a waterfall emerges directly out of the cliff face two hundred feet above, and you can walk behind it. Most visitors turn around at the lake. Do not.

Winter

Permits are cheaper, the crowd is thinner, and you may need microspikes and poles. The trail ices.

Before you go

The Forest Service page has carried active alerts including trail closures and occupancy restrictions. Check it, and check the booking page, on the day. Also check CDOT for I-70 through Glenwood Canyon, which sees intermittent lane closures for resurfacing and can close for crashes or flash flood warnings. Since June 2025 CDOT no longer closes the canyon preemptively for forecast rain over the Grizzly Creek burn scar.

Checked September 2026 by Western Slope Trellis. Permit rules and trail status change. Confirm at visitglenwood.com/hanginglake before you go.